Taking care of myself

by Rio362

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Human, Sad, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 13860

Sometimes hope shows up in a very tiny package and when it blooms you'll understand truly why it gives you hope.

My name is Javier Illanes but all of my friends call me Rio. I have lived in Canada for about six or seven years and I have lost my hope and will to move forward. I have let myself go down a path of soft self destruction. I have been letting myself slowly wither until one night when the moon decides that I have chosen the wrong path and carves out another in it's place.

Published 2013-04-28 17:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-28 17:20:02 UTC

Chapter 1

Another few hours spent looking outside and witnessing the beauty of snow. I’m as sick as a dog and yet it doesn’t bother me at all. Personally I don’t care if I’m sick.

Why should I care. No one else does. I just let it be. I’d much rather have fun now and deal with my illness later. I live alone in my apartment so I just take care of myself or I would if I cared enough to. It’s my life and well if I died the next day who would mind right? So I just live my life in the now and if I fade away the next day then at least I know that I had a lot of fun before hand, and that would be optimal for me.

I work almost everyday and so I spend the days away from work playing with friends at home and outside. Lets not get the wrong idea here I’m no bum or anything I shower and clean my apartment its just if I’m sick or hurt I don’t bother to worry about it. It’ll fix itself in time. I must sound lazy but to be honest I guess I just gave up hope.

My life right now has been good it’s just been really lonely. If there is anything I ever did give a damn about it was music, but only music that really touched my soul. That kind of music has always given me reason to stay just a little longer to hopefully witness more music of that caliber. Another thing that gives me something beautiful to look at is the moon.

How it shines sometimes at night and makes my whole apartment glow. I sometimes go out to the balcony to see the moon’s beauty shine. I love seeing how it lights up the pathways and roads around the building. One day however was very strange. I went out once again to see its glorious luminescence when I heard a voice.

“You there what is your name?”

“Who are you?” I asked

All of a sudden the moon’s light shined down right at me it was pretty darn bright too.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Rio why?”

“You care not for you life and I am curious as to why?”

I wasn’t entirely sure as to why I was doing this. I wasn’t even sure if this was a dream or I was just slowly losing my mind. So I figured whatever I’ll just live in the moment and be honest.

“I just lost hope that’s all. Why does that matter to you anyway?”

Just as I finished my sentence a concentrated ray of the moon’s light shot through my chest and amazingly enough it didn’t hurt but instead I felt warmth.

I however thought maybe this was it. This was finally my time and I was going to die comfortably instead of painfully. However the voice had spoken up again.

“Maybe this will give you reason to have hope once more child. Look upon the gift to which I have given you and maybe you’ll have reason once more to live on. Farewell for now.”

“What in the hell just happened?”

My mind was lost in the numerous amount of questions that I had. I looked back up at the moon in wonder. after a few minutes of trying to figure out some reason for what happened I had remembered that she said she left something for me. My supposed reason for having renewed hope. I looked around trying to figure out what her gift was when my eyes fell upon what looked like at blue baby horse with a short black mane and tail.

Being a brony my sense of wonder burst forth from me and I knelt down next to it. It was shivering while still somehow asleep. I was use to the cold but since it was still a foal outside was not the best place for it to be. I gently scooped it up so as not to wake it up and took it inside to my room where I let it rest on my bed. I covered it up to keep it nice and toasty, and then made my way back outside to see the moon again hoping for some answers.

“Why did you give me this? What if I can’t take good care of it. I mean why choose someone like me who doesn’t give a damn if he dies the next day?”

“Why?”

I went back inside after about an hour of begging the moon for more answers. I stopped by the fridge to grab my water bottle before heading to my room. My mind was still lost in thought and I had almost banged into the door to my room because of this. When I arrived the sleeping colt was still there all wrapped up all warm and cozy in the bed sheets.

*sigh*

“What am I going to do with you little one? I hardly give a damn about myself so why choose me to take care you something like you?”

I began to gently pet his head and while still asleep he pushed his head closer to my hand which helped me relax slightly after witnessing these crazy events.

“I guess you really like that huh? what should I call you anyway?”

After a few minutes of trying to figure out a good name and coming up with nothing I decided to just go to sleep and figure out a good name in the morning.

Author's Note

Just so you all know this story links with my other fanfic called "Love on the Orchard".
I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 2

I had decided to give the little colt my bed for the night. I didn’t mind much since I had an awesome beanbag chair that I did use as a bed on occasion. Mainly whenever friends came over.

The next morning I did something that I hadn’t done in a very long time. I had decided to cook my own breakfast which was a healthy breakfast consisting of eggs sunny side up, toast and bacon. In all honesty I normally just heat up a frozen dinner but hey I had the skills may as well use em right?

I knew I could cook well its just I never bothered to because once again I just didn’t care to. I guess the smell of the food had woken up the little colt since he made his way over to the kitchen to see me there cooking. I hadn’t noticed him for some time just sitting there watching me in awe as I moved around the kitchen sliding back and forth on the smooth tile floor picking up various spices for my dish.

When I finally did notice the little colt there he was still staring at me but I could tell the scent of my food was making it hungry because of the drool starting to form around mouth. So I quickly grabbed my knife along side with some carrots from the fridge and chopped them up. Afterwards throwing them into a pot of boiling water to soften them up for him.

After the carrots were soft enough I made sure to mash them up a little more so it’d be even easier for it to eat. After about 15 minutes or so happy sounds of munching could be heard from the little blue colt as he enjoyed the fruits of my labor. I had made sure to also give it some water. Unfortunately he didn't really like that which was kind odd to me and the only other thing I had was chocolate milk so I gave him that instead. Now he loved that a lot thank god.

“There ya go little one. Eat up you’re are a growing pony after all.”

“You really like my cooking don’t you little guy?”

He nodded in happy agreement which caught me a little off guard.

“Wait you can understand me?”

Once again he nodded.

I knelt down to him and he placed his little hooves on my lap to rest there. I began to pet his head which I knew he loved since yet again he pushed his head into my hands gave me a smile. I used my other hand to scratch under his chin and with that he flopped onto his back to rest and enjoy his sweet treatment. He looked so adorable laying down and looking happy like that and after a few minutes I picked him up and held him to me face to face. He still had a smile and he licked my nose like a little puppy would.

I recoiled a little and his smile faded a little after I had done that and then his ears drooped as if he had done something wrong. So to make him feel better I licked his face back. Not gonna lie that was a really bad idea cause one I seem like the weirdest person ever to do something like that also I got a lot of fur on my tongue. Whatever, I didn't care what other people thought of me. I just cared about this little pony.

As far as I was concerned whatever made this little pony happy made me happy too. At the same time why did I care about this little pony so much anyway? I mean ya I’m a brony and all but still where is this emotion coming from? His ears perked back up and a smile reappeared on his face. I put him back down on the floor and he decided that he wanted more petting and chin scratches so of course I gave him what he wanted. seeing him so happy like this gave me a good feeling in my heart. I could feel a sense of meaning again. Like I had a purpose once more not just to play around and not care about what would happen to me. I had a reason to live, this little foal was that reason.

“Thank you” I said to him thinking out loud.

He gave me a confused look.

“Oh its nothing.”

He sat up right and looked at me with a curious look in his eyes.

A moment passed with him waiting for me to say something from what I could guess with the look on his face, but I said nothing.

“What do you want me to say little guy?”

He held out his hoof toward me, and his expression changed to that of worry. I guess tears started to down my face without me even noticing them.

He hopped onto my lap and began wiping tears from my eyes and then he nuzzled my face with his nose. He snuggled closer to make me feel better.

“Why did you do that little buddy?”

The little foal sat back and put his hoof to where my heart was in my chest and then to where his heart was in his.

“Are you saying you love me like your daddy or something?”

After I said that he nodded happily and gave me as big a hug as his little arms could give.

“But why though what could have done to make you care about me like that. I have only known you for one day.”

The little foal couldn’t speak yet so he just used his hooves to make the motions of me feeding him, making him giggle and laugh, making him feel happy and taking good care of him.

“But I’m just a stranger. how can you care about me like that so qui…” I was stopped by him waving his hooves at me to get my attention. He then once again motioned his hooves to point at my heart then his.

I soon realized that he didn’t just mean that he loved my like his parent but that we are connected in an even greater sense.

Once again he sat there looking up at me with his cute little smile and adorable brown eyes.

“I’m sorry I still don’t fully understand little buddy .” His head drooped with his ears following suit.

“Look I won’t give up in trying to figure this out I promise. Would you help me along the way?”

He raised his head to look up at me but his ears were still flopped down in sadness. So I took the opportunity to scratch behind his ears which made them perk up and he seemed to enjoy it since he placed his hooves on my chest to raise his head closer to hand for more scratches.

I scooped him up and cradled him in my arms and then began to scratch under his chin to which he let out another contented sigh.

“I’ll figure this out I promise.” As I sat there with him in my arms looking outside hoping for some kind of a sign. Apparently he was so comfy and happy that he fell asleep right there in my arms.

I walked over to my beanbag chair and started up a movie on my Xbox and just let it run till I fell asleep too. Haven’t taken a nap like that in a long time. It felt nice and relaxing.

When I woke he was still napping but he had shifted into laying sprawled comfortably on my chest. Now was a perfect quiet time to think about a name for the little guy.

After watching him sleep there for a while and seeing how comfortable he looked it reminded me of well…me from way back when I use to take naps as a baby with my mom.

I use to sleep so softly just like this little guy and he reminded me of those times so with that I came up with the perfect name for him.

Rio Jr.

Author's Note

Enjoy ^_^

Chapter 3

Not the most complex or innovative name I know but I figured if he considers me his dad I may as well consider him my son right? besides when I started calling him that he loved it.

After waking up and stretching I spent the next couple of hours giving him a grand tour of my apartment. It wasn’t a very big apartment but I think he enjoyed it. He’d point at things and I’d tell him what they were and how they worked.

He really liked my lava lamp. I actually caught him one morning just starring at the wax spheres in the inside slowly moving up and down and colliding with one another inside of the lava lamp’s casing.

Unfortunately it broke one day and needless to say he was pretty sad. I felt so bad for him that when his birthday came around which was March 17th by the way I went out the day before and bought him a brand new one just for him. I was pretty neat too.

It had a stone dragon curling around it with its claws wrapped around the top and bottom of the glass casing. The stone dragon has emerald green eyes and it was bearing its teeth as if defending its treasure, and the lava lamps light was green along side with the wax inside of it.

When he opened his present his eyes widened and he could not contain himself. He was jumping around in shear bliss.

“I’m glad you like it Jr.”

*squee*

Sadly I had to throw away my broken lava lamp and in its place gave the new lava lamp its home on my night table.

I never thought I’d be so happy in my life. I was so use to being alone and being okay with my depression that I’d just let go of the idea of true happiness. This little pony is changing all that. This little pony is making my life somehow worth living again.

“Thanks Jr.”

After we hooked it up in my room we must have sat there for hours just watching it as the light shined and the wax spheres collided with one another. I wasn’t really watching the lava lamp as much as I was just enjoying watching him gaze at it with awe.

Every little while I would gently pet him and hug him softly which he of course enjoyed but for some reason whenever I held him close to me I was felt myself trembling a little. Was I actually afraid of losing him?

I haven’t felt fear like that in such a long time I didn’t really know how to handle it. I chose to forget my fear and simply live in the moment as if these were the last moments of life I had left with my little pony.

The next day was spent playing with him. He enjoyed fun little games that a normal child would such as hide and seek, tag, and catch. Not gonna lie he was really good at catch even though he never used a glove. He just caught the ball with his mouth.

As for playing hide n seek I would always know where to find him only because I could hear him giggling in excitement whenever I was near him. Then when I finally did find him he would run out of wherever he was hiding and we would play chase.

Thanks to the little guy my stamina for sports has gotten far better so I can finally keep up with him. He’s pretty fast for a a little colt. I could and actually have spent whole days just playing with him like this. I loved these kinds of days I really did. I have had a lot of fun before but never this much. Like all fun days though one must also work.

Work had once again reared its head at me and I knew I’d have to spend a day away from my little Rio. waking up was hard enough only because the little colt would always sleep on top of me and would be so warm that I’d only wake up for a few seconds to look at him sleeping there softly and then I would fall back asleep once more.

I tried to wake up without him noticing and of course that didn’t work. He didn’t cry or anything with waking up but he instead leaped up to me wrapping his little arms around my neck to give me a hug. I’m sure he was hoping I would go back to sleep and snuggle him.

“Sorry little buddy but I have to go to work today and I won’t see you for a little while okay? I promise I’ll be back tonight though for sure.” I spoke softly to him in hopes that he wouldn’t feel worried or scared that I might not come back.

I already knew I’d be fine however since I have been driving back and forth to the this job for almost a year.

I could see sadness in his eyes and I knew what I had to do. I knelt down to him with my hands on my knees. He walked up to me and lifted one of my hands with his head to get pats from me.

Which of course he did and how could I not once again give him the full loving treatment which is pets and chin scratches. He is a very spoiled little pony but that’s for obvious reasons.

“I have to go now Jr but I’ll back later okay so no worries.” He sat down with his hind legs laying flat on the ground, his front legs giving him support and his little black tail curled around him on the ground. I could tell he was going to miss me as much as I was going to miss him.

After work was finished I found that my muscles were as always sore but this time my heart was too so I couldn’t wait to get home and see Jr again. Finally up to the ninth floor and through the door to my room.

I couldn’t find him at first but I knew where to look and I was right. He was in my room and he must have fallen asleep gazing at the lava lamp again. He was curled up in a ball to keep himself warm until I gently picked him up and took him with me to my beanbag chair.

Though he was still asleep he somehow knew that he was being hugged by his daddy and so out of instinct he stretched out all four legs to get more comfortable and laid completely sprawled on my chest. I brought him a little closer to head level so that I could nuzzle him and stroke his little black mane.

“Love you Jr I’m here for you. So you can sleep easy Lil buddy.”

I nuzzled his forehead and held him close. He let out an adorable little yawn before he changed the position of his head to be more comfortable. The warmth of his body once again acted as a blanket for me and I soon found myself nodding off to sleep.

That night I awoke to see the moon’s light shining bright once again. I gently picked up Lil Rio, placed him down comfortably on the beanbag chair and I went outside to see moon or Luna as I have start calling her.

“Luna if you can hear me I’d like an answer to my question please.”

“Luna please tell me what I’m supposed to do.”

After a few moments of begging for an answer I was given only this for an answer.

“Take care of yourself young one.”

The voice never returned after that.

“Take care of myself? How can I take care of myself when I have to take care of this little guy and…”

I began to cough uncontrollably and quickly ran inside to get warm.

“What the hell am I supposed to do with “Take care of yourself”?

“What are you talking about Luna? what do you mean?”

After I came in I saw Jr shivering and for some reason I panicked, ran to him, and scooped him up to take him to my room to get him under the warm covers quickly.

“Rio…Rio you alright little buddy?”

He woke up and looked at me with a confused look on his face. He didn’t seem to mind me waking him up though. In fact he smiled sleepily, licked my nose, and then went back to sleep.

“Why did I freak out just now? Man what is wrong with me?”

I sat there for a few minutes petting the little ball of blue fluff and wondered to myself.

“What did Luna mean by take care of yourself?”

Author's Note

Enjoy ^_^

Chapter 4

I woke up the next day with a not so happy attitude because I had work again.

“Ugh again with the working and the sweeping and the orders bleh.”

I got up sluggishly with the little colt still sleeping next to me comfortably.

“oh sure you can just sleep away the day can’t you? lucky.”

I smiled however when I looked at him sleeping there carefree. I nuzzled him as well and a smile appeared on his face after the affection was given.

“Love you little guy. sleep well.”

Before I left I gave him a little kiss on his cheek and made my way out the door after having breakfast.

Once I got into the kitchen I was greeted by Mike Tagg my boss and Nick Chios my friend and co-worker.

“Hey Rio.” Mike said.

“JALAPENO ON A STICK. how’s it going buddy?”

“Heh hey guys i’m good how are ya both?”

“Living the dream everyday bro. You look tired man whats up? didn’t you sleep well last night?” Nick asked.

“Oh no I slept fine actually better then usual maybe I just slept so well that I just didn’t want to get up. anyway what are we looking at today boys?”

Tagg spoke up in his usual energetic tone. “Yo dawg me and nick killed the prep list bro we only got two things left.” As usual he made me chuckle and for some reason I fed off his energy so I got ready for work but was a lot more awake.

I can’t really explain why I get more energy whenever I work with Mike Tagg. I think its just because since he was the one who hired me back I have to prove myself to him and the rest of the kitchen so I get this boost of self drive to make myself a better faster cook.

The three and a half hours that I was working there for seemed to pass by like it was only a few minutes. I went for food after work as usual and Alix who is Mike Tagg’s girlfriend was sitting in her usual spot and since I had gotten to know her and made close friends with her I came around to calling her sis.

She didn’t seem to mind it at all and I told her why too. I grew very attached to her and Mike Tagg like they were family I care about them a lot and they know it.

After I was finished and paid my bill I made my way home saying my farewells to everyone before my next day of work.

There was no sun today which I actually liked to be honest. I loved this kind of weather outside where the clouds are covering the sky and its only a little bit chilly. I’m not emo or anything its just that it makes me feel like no matter what time of day it is it still looks like I just woke up and and it’s early in the morning.

I just like feeling like I still have a lot of the day left to do whatever I want ya know. When I finally arrived into my apartment I found that the couch was missing its cushion and there were a lot of blankets covering my living room.

“Jr you in here?” the whole living room was now a fort.

“Huh you have been pretty busy haven’t you?”

Jr cam out of the fort and nodded. He then motioned me to come into the fort with him.

I made my way into the fort following him and at the center of it he had his lava lamp sitting there in the middle of it.

“not bad Jr not bad at all.”

He was standing tall and beaming with pride after I said that.

“Ah so you think your something special uh?”

I gently toppled him to the ground by nudging his little body and I began to tickle him playfully. After a few minutes of tickling torturing his belly I stopped and nuzzled his little nose.

“I think your very special Jr and I’m very proud of you. I love you little buddy.”

I know he understood what I was saying because he licked my nose cutely and gave me a big hug. When I hugged him back I could feel tears finding their way down along my face landing on Jr’s nose and mane. I could feel myself holding on to him tighter and tighter.

The trembling that I had felt before turned into full blown fear. I was truly scared of losing him.

Lil Rio noticed this and looked up at me also with tears in his eyes.

“Why are you crying buddy?… Whats wrong?”

He pointed at my eyes with his hooves showing that since I was crying something must be bothering me and that made him cry too. I wiped the tears from his eyes and he wiped the tears from my eyes with his nose. we held each other close that night and didn’t let go in fear of losing each other. I hadn’t felt a fear like this in a long time. That night I held my little pony so close to me as if protecting him from monsters trying to take him away.

I felt love. Love that only a parent can give except I was giving this little pony wrapped in my arms all the love I had to give in this world. I truly loved this little pony like he was my son. Is this what it feels like to be a parent. If so I both loved it and hated it. I hated it because if I ever lost my little pony I don’t know what I’d do. On the other hand I loved it because this little pony that I held so near and dear to my heart has given me reason to live on and take care of myself. Just as well he was counting on me to protect him, love him, and nurture him for the rest of his life and I am more than happy to do so.

When I woke up the next day I had prepared a big surprise for Lil Rio. I had made breakfast and prepared a picnic basket for lunch later in the afternoon. Jr likes to sleep in so I always let him wake up whenever he’s ready. As soon as he did I scooped him up and nuzzled him sweetly and brought him his breakfast which he enjoyed thoroughly His breakfast consisted of two mini muffins, chocolate milk, and some oats that I bought from the store close by my apartment building early in the morning.

He’s grown his teeth in recently so I could hear his little teeth munching away happily at the oats. ever since our first breakfast I have been putting a place for him to sit at the table next to me. Although the chairs are not high enough for him to sit down and be able to reach his food. So what I did was I just let him sit on the table and eat his food like that till he grows up a little more not that I mind one bit mainly because I find it cute that he just lays there and munches away.

Plus I can just reach over anytime I want and give him a pat while I’m eating my food too. After we were both done eating and cleaning up we sneakily made our way down the stairs of my apartment building and hopped in my car. I knew a park that no one really goes to anymore and I knew the place had a nice stream nearby and so I figured why not. I brought a few towels and my trunks in case we wanted to go swimming in the stream.

The weather has gotten warmer so my apartment has gotten pretty hot on the inside so thought why not cool off if we wanted in a nice cool water stream. I had also brought along a little yellow hacky sack and a soccer ball to have some fun with. This was going to be our day of fun and relaxation.

Just as I suspected there was no one at our secret spot and so our day of fun had begun. Lil Rio was still extremely fast and it was pretty hard for me to get the ball away from him when we started playing keep away. Then when we actually started playing soccer and he would kick the ball so hard that I had to go for a five minute run just to find the ball not that I minded. Of course we had fun trying to find it because that’s just how I and he had started to look at most things. Positive, fun, and enjoyable.

Author's Note

Enjoy ^_^

Chapter 5

Granted this happened a couple of times but as far as I was concerned I needed the exercise and my body is strong but my cardio kinda sucks or well it use to till I started playing with Lil Rio. Anyway this time when we went for the ball we found a fox who was injured. apparently there were still bear traps around. I shook my head at the thought mainly because I just didn’t understand why a trap would be here in the first place. I knelt down to it and of course I get the response that I knew was coming. It lashed out at us and tried to defend itself.

I backed away and ran to the picnic basket and came back with some food for it to eat because it looked hungry and thankfully it settled down. The amazing thing was that Lil Rio was there with it the entire time and he was somehow keeping it calm during the time that I was getting the food. I gave the fox what food I had brought and then I asked Jr to lay down next to it to help keep it warm since it was mildly chili outside plus the fox looked like it had lost a lot of blood.

“Okay this might hurt just a little”.

I pried open the trap and the fox was able to go free but it seemed like it was still in pretty bad shape. Thankfully I always had a medical kit with me in my car wherever I go so I quickly ran back to the car and returned with some bandage. Jr was there nuzzling it and keeping it warm. I knew Jr had a kind and loving heart because I’m sure not many other animals would try to help a fox if they saw it. I tried to wrap the bandages around it’s leg but it snapped at me and so I gave the bandages to Jr to see if he could do it for the fox.

It worked like a charm. He was able to wrap the bandages around its leg with no problems. It began licking Jr’s cheek sweetly as a means of thanking him. After a few moments it regained its strength and made its way home but not before it nuzzled Jr one more time and gave me a look which I suspected meant “thanks but don’t act like I needed you” I took it in a positive manner and bowed my head to it and then it vanished.

“How did you do that Jr”?

He did this motion which made me laugh really hard to the point of tears because he looked at me with a smile on his face and then he just did what looked like a shrug.

“Really Jr you have no idea.? You know what come ere you”.

I gently pushed him to the ground and began tickling him.

“lets see you shrug now you little smarty pants”.

He playfully tried to bat me with his hooves trying to get me to stop. I wasn't tickling him so much to the point of him losing his breath or anything but I knew my limit for tickling cause when I was a kid and whenever my parents would tickle me I could only take so much so I made sure to stop pretty quick. After all the laughter I laid down, picked up Jr and place him with his back on my chest so we could watch the clouds together.

I wasn’t sure how this happened but time just seemed to fly right on by and it was time to go home. It wasn't all that late but I guess he was pretty worn out from all the excitement. Once again I found myself standing outside watching the moon hoping for some answers. Of course I was given none but this time I didn't really mind. Instead I just enjoyed the moon glow and the slight warmth of the night.

What was odd was when I had reentered my apartment room my legs just gave out for some reason. It was weird it almost felt like I tripped over something but I knew where everything was in my room so I found it fairly strange. I brushed it off however thinking it to just be my clumsiness. I knew that tomorrow was going to be another work day though it may be short I knew it would suck a little only because I was working a Saturday dinner shift.

I shook the idea of working like crazy tomorrow out of my head and decided just to go to bed and enjoy hanging out with my buddy James and his sister ray tomorrow morning before work. My buddy James is one of the few people I can count on to cheer me up even when my day is usually starting off in a shitty manner. He’s a brony like me so he shows me all of his pony collection and I have seen his room which is like a shrine to the whole fandom.

I have been to his place a few times and to be honest I consider him and his sister to be like my family. They have both been very kind to me and along side them is another close friend of mine and his name is Noir. Noir when I first met him a my first brony meet up he was fairly timid but I could understand why. However after a while he got use to me being around and we have become very good friends. Just as well I consider him family.

The next day before leaving for James’s house I wondered what I was going to do with Jr. I mean I had left him alone before but never for this long. I mean were talking almost a full day here. I figured if I brought Lil Rio to James’s house he might feel a little weird at first what with all the pony stuff that James has but at the same time I know he would be treated like family.

I went and woke up Jr to see if he may want to come with me. I knew he could understand me so I figured he was pretty darn smart for his age which to be honest I have no idea what his age actually is except that he is still pretty young for a pony. Anyway when I woke him up he thought it’d be funny to curl up into a ball and when I got close to try to pick him up he’d just jump up from the bed and latch onto my face with his front and hind legs wrapping around the back of my head.

I just kind of stood there and tried to ask him what he was doing since it was kinda sudden and random for his to do this. He eventually let go of course but only because I started walking around with him still attached to my head till we got to my living room where I gently took him off my face and began to nuzzle his tummy. As usual he gave my a good morning kiss or well lick to the nose which I have actually become accustom to. In fact I almost felt like I couldn’t live without them every morning.

It was his way of showing affection toward me as his father. Of course I would always kiss his little nose back every time and he would smile and motion me in for a hug and want me to carry him out to the living room for cartoons and breakfast. Today however was going to be a little different because today I was taking him with me to see someone he had never before. My buddy James.

After an early breakfast I asked Jr if he was ready to go see my friend. His initial response was a bit of fear because he had no idea who James was or what he was like. I told him just to think of James as someone who would be his friend and play games with him just like I do. Jr still was a little worried about the whole thing but he did seem a little more relaxed after I told him that.

We set off toward James’s house and when we arrived I found James just chillin like a villain in his room of course on his computer which by the way is pretty tricked out. Puts my PC to shame but none the less he’s humble and kind which to me is what matters most when I make friends. I opened the door to his room where he was playing Call of Duty Black ops 2 and so I knew he would notice me coming in. I knew he wouldn’t mind anyway since he has many friends over most of the time.

Ray was there in her room just sleeping completely covered from head to toe in blankets. The way I started getting there attention whenever I came into their rooms and they were playing something was to crumple up a piece of paper and just playfully throw it at their heads. They never minded it because they just thought it was funny for me to do that.

This time was different however. I went into James’s room and I was holding Lil Rio in my arms and I set him down on top of James’s bed. He knew I was there but he didn’t notice the little blue colt sitting on his bed yet because I was sort of in the way. As soon as he was finished playing I got his attention and told him that I wanted to show him something very important.

“James I need you to not freak out and scare him ok”?

“Scare who Rio”?

Author's Note

Enjoy ^_^

Chapter 6

I removed the blankets and pillow that was covering Lil Rio and I let him walk a little bit forward. James’s eyes went huge with brony excitement and also some confusion.

“Rio is that….is that real or am I hallucinating”?

“No bud you’re not and this little colt here is as real as they come”.

“Can I pet him”? James asked

I nodded and let him move close to Lil Rio and the initial response was not what I expected at all. Jr stepped back a little to get some space and then he ran and jumped right on top of James and snuggled closer to him to get warmer.

“Hey I guess he really likes you. Sweet”.

James’s face was still kind of in shock but then he relaxed a little and began to pet him while the little colt was relaxing and sleeping. It was kind of an early morning Lil Rio anyway so I could understand why he was so tired. Then James’s sister Raylene walked in the door and noticed Lil Rio sleeping there and she said.

“Hey you finished Rio’s OC nice can I see it”?

“Uh Ray you might want to take a closer look at him”. I said.

Ray moved closer to James and the sleeping foal and noticed that was breathing and moving slightly. She looked like she was about to freak out when we both stopped her.

“Ray wait don’t freak out just listen”.

Before we were actually able to explain anything Lil Rio woke up just enough to notice a new person had entered the room and he got excited and did what he did to me this morning. He jumped off of James and latched onto Raylene’s face in a semi tight affectionate hug. I was sure she was in some form of shock because she didn’t move and do anything at all. Until a few moments had past and then she spoke up.

“Rio why is it latched onto my face like this”?

I spoke up

“It’s because he likes you Ray. To be honest I didn’t think he’d be so welcoming to new people so quickly”. I said

“Ray its okay just gently take him off your face he’ll give you something sweet for being nice to him”.

Ray gently took Lil Rio of her face and he licked her nose sweetly. She recoiled a little bit and Jr thought he did something wrong.

“Why does he look sad? what’d I do?”

I explained to her that he is very affectionate and if you recoil he thinks he did something bad. Lil Rio was on verge of tears until Ray hugged him tightly and then began to play with him. Now Ray is a brony too so she loves the show “My little Pony Friendship is Magic” too its just that this came as a bit of a shock to both Ray and James to see a real life pony that looked like it was from the show.

“So what do you guys think of Lil Rio”?

they both spoke up in fairly excited tones

“HE IS AMAZ…wait hold on his name’s Lil Rio….really dude”?

I gave James and Ray a “not impressed” look and told them.

“Yes I named him Lil Rio. I couldn’t figure out a good name for him so I just gave him my name just with a Lil or Jr.

“How did he get here anyway”?

I motioned them both closer to me so I could explain what really happened that night. I told them that one night I was standing outside on my balcony enjoying the the glow of the moon when I heard a voice call to me. I told them that I couldn’t find who was speaking to me and I thought that the moon was speaking to me while I was asleep or something. The moon or Luna as I have come to call her from the show in which she is a princess asked me why I had given up hope in my life.

“I asked her why it mattered to her anyway and she didn’t even answer before she left”.

“So Luna just one night talked to you and decided to just give you a little pony to take care of”? Ray asked

“Ya I’m not sure why, but I don’t mind if I can’t really explain it well enough because I got a gift that I never thought to be possible to have. I really do have hope again guys and I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose my little pony that is sleeping in your arms Ray”.

Ray walked over to me and placed Lil Rio in my arms and as always he knew he was being held by his dad and so he readjusted to laying down sprawled across my chest when I went and laid down on James’s bed.

“I’m still pretty blown away right now dude”. James said.

“I know I’m pretty blown away to by all this too guys. Thanks for accepting him and making him feel welcome by the way”.

“Duh of course dude”. James said.

That morning was spent giving Lil Rio a tour of James and Ray’s house. He got a chance to meet Hershey and Loki which were their cats. For some reason anytime Lil Rio meets an animal it almost instantly likes him a lot. Being the idiot that I am sometimes I forgot what I was going to do about work and taking Lil Rio home in time for me not to be late to work.

“Oh crap I’m going to be late if I take Jr home and then go to work. Crap crap crap gah come on man”.

“Hey calm down Rio we can take care of Lil Rio here for you until you’re done with work. Then you can come back here and pick him up or stay the night bud. Either way we’ll take care of him and everything will be fine”.

“Thanks James knew I could count on you bud. K I’ll be back later. Peace”.

As I left the house I was chased down by Jr with tears in his eyes. He must have thought I was going to leave him here forever or something.

“Hey shh easy there little buddy why are you crying”?

He clutched onto my leg tightly as a means of trying to keep me from going.

“Jr its alright bud I’m coming back I promise I will come back”.

I was already running late and so I needed to get to my car quickly. As I was about to put him down close to the door of the house I heard something from Jr that made my heart explode twice as the old meme goes.

“Daddy”.

At that moment it was as if time stopped and nothing else mattered. My little pony that I was taking care of called me daddy. He spoke and his first words were daddy. My little Rio was growing up right in front of me.

“Jr…. Lil buddy”.

He ran towards me and jumped into my arms and from that point on I knew we would always be father and son. I truly and forever loved this little pony. He was my little Rio always and forever.

Work didn’t go by fast enough for me. I wanted to get back to James’s house as quick as I could. When I finally arrived Lil Rio was the first person or pony I guess to greet me with James and ray following suit.

“Hey man how did work go for ya”?

It took me a while to answer him and he didn’t seem to mind much if at all. He knew I wanted to see Lil Rio as soon as I got back expecially after what happened between us.

“Work was alright but man did it feel slow as all hell”.

“That sucks”.

“Well ya know that’s just typical sometimes and hey at least I didn’t have to late stay tonight so that was a plus”.

“That’s true”.

That night we all hung out in James’s room listening to his synctube music and other various youtube videos. Lil Rio learned how to say a few more things that night other then “Daddy” although I still loved that “Daddy” was his first word. Luna’s gift to me truly did return my hope and my strength to keep moving forward in life.

I couldn’t thank her enough and that night after everyone went to bed I went outside to see Luna glowing beautifully as always.

“Luna I just want to thank you for what you gave me. Lil Rio isn’t just a pony to take care of but he’s a little gift of joy and hope that I truly did need in my life. Thanks again Luna. You truly are the best princess”.

I went back inside the house and down to Jame’s room and laid down next to Lil Rio who was curled up in a ball again to keep warm. I gently wrapped my arms around him and brought him close to me to keep warm and we both drifted off to sleep.

Next morning was another early morning and Lil Rio and I both headed back around 7:30 ish to go home and have breakfast. James and Ray were still asleep by the time I left so I’m sure they didn’t mind me leaving so early.

When we arrived home I noticed that Lil Rio was still asleep so I just cradled him under my left arm while holding my laptop bag in the other. I left him in my beanbag chair to continue sleeping and I noticed him moving around a bit to get more comfortable.

It was a little cold in my apartment room due to us not being around to turn up the heat on the the thermostat. It was a full grey day outside. The clouds were overhead covering everything as far as the eye could see. Lil Rio was the only thing in my apartment room that had any color and life to it.

One day I knew….I knew one day one of us was going to be without the other. The thought of it made my heart wench but I knew it would come one day and so I just wanted to live my life with him right now rather then worry about the future.

I grabbed the comforter from my bed in my room and brought it out to him so that he could sleep a little more comfortably due to the cold in my apartment room. I had a few chores to do this morning so I knelt down to him and kissed his little forehead and said

“Sleep tight Lil buddy”.

I made my way out the door and headed back down to the parkade where my car was waiting for me. All that had to be done for my chore day today was to go and drop off a check at the bank and go check when my next days of work will be from my job place. AKA “Montana’s Cookhouse”.

I felt a little sad seeing the clouds the way they were. At the same time I use to love days like this because with the clouds being the way they were I felt like I was never truly missing anything going on outside. I guess I just felt better about always wanting to be inside playing video games and just not being around other people.

Of course that was way back when. Not anymore though. Now I have friends and something very special in my life that completely turned it all around. I have Lil Rio counting on me and there is no way I’m going to let him down.

The bank was boring and fairly empty of people as always. Montana’s wasn't very busy either and so I was able to go in and check my next week work days and leave before anyone was even able to know I was there. To be honest it felt kind of odd. Normally everyone knows me and acknowledges me when I arrive but I guess today was a little bit different only because it was very slow and boring today.

Either way it was finally time to make my way home and tonight was going to be a lot of fun. Tonight I was taking Lil Rio bowling with my friends Noir, Grant, James and Ray. The bowling ally that we were going to was private and so I knew there wouldn't be any problem except to introduce Lil Rio to Noir and Grant for the first time.

I guess I am hoping James and Ray will help out with that and to be honest I know they will but I still have my concerns. When I arrived to my apartment room Lil Rio was still there sleeping soundly and so I began to make breakfast for the two of us which I knew would wake him up just by the smell of it. I have come to being use to making breakfast for two and now I don’t think I could ever get use to not making him breakfast.

I started buying two jugs of chocolate milk just for him and one jug of regular milk for me. Yes I spoil him with what he wants but only because he deserves it. He can speak a fair amount of words now and well he grew up a lot since that day when he first spoke.

Lil Rio walked into the kitchen sleepily still wiping his eyes and dragging the comforter right behind him in his mouth. I placed down his plate for him as usual on the table in the living room. I picked him up since he was still pretty tired and nearly falling asleep. As soon as the cold chocolate milk touched his tongue he was wide awake.

I set my plate down and next to his on the table and I turned on the Xbox to watch my favorite food network show while I ate which is “Diners, Drive ins, and Dives”. For some reason watching that show always made my food taste twice as good. Lil Rio seemed to like it too but I’d always finish my food first and switch it to cartoons just for him which of course he liked more.

When we finished breakfast I took both our plates to the sink and cleaned them off. I noticed that Lil Rio had become curious about the Xbox and actually grabbed one of the controllers with his mouth and attempted to play with the menu.

Author's Note

Enjoy ^_^

Chapter 7

I walked over to him and let him keep playing with it till he dropped it in my hands and asked

“How I play like you daddy”?

I snuggled him close on my lap and showed him how to use the controller for basic menu surfing.

“See bud all you do is use the green button which is called the “A” button and then you use this little joy stick here for looking around on the menu”.

Lil Rio spoke up

“I wanna play game with daddy”.

I gave him a little smile and nodded my head.

“Alright sure why not”?

I had to start off with a simple game so I chose a game called “N+” which is a platforming game where the players are ninjas who run a course collecting gold and try to reach the end of the of the level first. All we had to use for controls were the “left stick” on the controller for movment and the “A” button to jump.

Lil Rio seemed to be having a lot of fun and amazingly enough he was beating me at almost every race. It was odd because at first he playing the game by using his nose to move and his right hoof to press “A”. Then after a few moments of this he just picked it up with both hooves and began playing like a normal human did.

He used both hooves to make his character run and jump with ease. Just then as we were playing and when the final race of that level was done something amazing happened. His cutie mark appeared in the form of a white Xbox controller.

“Hey Jr look at this”.

I picked him up and brought him to a mirrior and showed him his cutie mark. Needless to say he was bursting with excitement and joy.

“You did it Lil buddy. You found your special talent and I’m very proud of you”.

“I gamer like daddy now”?

“Ya you are Lil buddy. I’m very very proud of you. You found your special talent and you’re kind and gentle being to all those around you Lil Rio. You’re a little angel and I don’t want you ever thinking otherwise ok”?

He nodded his head and asked for a hug.

I picked him up and held him tight in my arms and nuzzled his belly. I gave him chin scratches and pats which made him flop onto the ground in enjoyment. The time flew on by and 8pm soon found its way to us. Now was the time to take him to meet my friends.

To get him down to the parkade safely I wrapped him up in my sweater and sat him in the front seat of the car with me so he’d look like a child in a really big sweater on. We made our way to the bowling alley and I was holding Lil Rio under my arm. I could tell he was a little uncomfortable because he was moving around a lot when I was bringing him down to the bowling alley where my friends were waiting for us.

When we arrived Ray and James were waiting for me outside of the doors to the bowling alley and I showed them Lil Rio and he was of course happy to see them.

“Hey Lil Rio”. Ray said with excitement about her.

Lil Rio popped out of the sweater and jumped right into her arms with James giving him pats and chin scratches.

“Well he obviously isn’t worried about you guys but I’m still a little worried about Noir and grant”.

James spoke up.

“I think you worry to much my friend. Think about it Lil Rio was happy to meet us right away so why would he have a problem with other people. Besides grant and Noir are harmless”.

“You hold a good point there James plus the alley is private so its only going to be just us there so I guess everything will be okay”.

I let Ray take Lil Rio into the bowling alley covering him with my sweater when passing the owner of the building and going to meet my friends.

“Hey Noir. Wassup Grant how are ya both”?

Grant and Noir spoke up in happy tones.

“Hey Rio glad you could make it”.

“I wouldn’t have missed this for anything guys”.

On our way to the lanes I told grant and Noir that I had something that I needed to show them. Lil Rio’s tail began to stick out of the sweater and Noir caught eye of this and laughed a bit.

“Is by chance the thing you want to show us a new plushy that you got Rio”?

“What are you talking about Noir”?

Then I noticed that Lil Rio’s tail was sticking out and I figure screw it may as well just show them now.

“Okay this is what I wanted to show you”.

I pulled him out of the sweater and set him down to the ground and let him stretch his legs.

“Rio….what….is that”? Noir asked with shocked tone.

“This is Lil Rio”.

Grant had a different reaction he picked up Lil Rio and examined him and the reaction from Lil Rio as expected was a lick to the face which grant didn’t seem to mind at all. After grant put him down and gave him a pat Lil Rio made his way to Noir. He sat in front of Noir and looked at him with his head tilited to the right as if in confusion as to why Noir hadn’t pat him yet.

“Uh hey Noir I think Lil Rio wants something from you”.

“Oh…What does he want”?

“I’m sure you can figure it out bud just look at him and you’ll see”.

Lil Rio hopped up onto Noir’s lap and continued to look at him with his adorable little eyes. After a few moments Noir began to pet Lil Rio’s head and he let out a happy sigh.

“See Noir I knew you’d figure it out you just have to relax a little more bud”.

“How did he get here Rio”?

I explained what I had explained to James and Ray and of course it’s hard to believe but It was true that Luna created Lil Rio for me and gave him to me in order to restore my hope. Luna knew that I was on the verge of giving up hope entirely and she made Lil Rio for me to take care of and at the same time I was taking of myself because of this.

“So your Luna is real and she sent you Lil Rio because she knew that you were lost in depression basically”? Noir asked.

“Basically ya I felt alone and I had stopped caring about almost everything. but then one night Luna talked to me and asked why I was this way. I told her I just didn’t care anymore and then out of nowhere she sent me Lil Rio and since then my life as been full of meaning again. Long story short anyway”.

“Dude I’m jelly bro”. Grant said breaking the moment.

“Really grant you had to say that”? As I said laughing.

Afterward we started our game with the list of players being:

Team 1:

Rio

DerpyApples

Jamesdabeast

Team 2:

Lil Rio

NoirUnicorn

Fluttershybroni

We had even teams and it was fun to watch Lil Rio bowl since he tried to grab the bowling ball in his mouth and spit it out toward the pins. I was always against him whenever we bowled and every time I would be the one help him with rolling the ball down the lane to hit the pins.

It was a five pin game of bowling so the bowling ball itself wasn’t massive for him. He was still pretty wobbly and whenever he tried to pick it up and move around with it in his mouth. His first attempt was probably the most adorable thing you could have ever seen and here’s why. He ran with the ball in his mouth and when he threw it the strength that he used plus the weight of the ball had launched him down the lane.

The lane being the way it was which was extremely slippery made him lose his grip on the wood and so he was sliding toward the pins along side the ball and his legs were all spread apart with his face holding the expression of fear. When he was finally stopped by the pins he looked embarrassed until he came back up the lane to us and we cheered for him because he scored a strike.

He looked up at us with surprise and then after explaining his accomplishment he we bursting with joy. Of course afterward to look funny he walked to his seat with his head held high and his eyes closed. As I knew it would come to pass he accidentally hit his head on the seat in front of him.

He cutely fell back on his rump and his eyes became derpy for a quick moment until he shook it off. Everyone ran to him and snuggled him and rubbed his head where it hurt and they all played with him. I knew he was welcome and that everyone would be there for him if he ever needed any of them. They cared about him almost as much as I did.

Unfortunately for us we lost the game but no one really cared about the score since we were just there to have fun and welcome Lil Rio into the group. I told Lil Rio each of their names and so he tried to speak them which was pretty adorable to watch.

After about two more hours of fun it was time to end the night and we both said our goodbyes to our friends but of course being who he was Lil Rio without needing to do anything got all the attention and so we were there saying goodbye for at least another thirty minutes or so. He got hugs, nuzzles, chin scratches, and snuggles.

He is a loved pony for sure which made me happy. On our way home Luna was once again shining brightly and so I figured tonight why don’t we both got out to the balcony and see if we can’t talk with her together. That night when we arrived home I made us some dinner and after our meal and I picked up Lil Rio in my arms and took him outside to see Luna.

Amazingly enough she actually did talk this time in a semi serious tone but also somewhat happy.

“Greetings Rio how are you”.

“Oh Luna I have been fantastic. What you have given me is more then I could have ever hoped for. Thank you thank you thank you Princess. Really Thank you so much”.

“It was my pleasure and Rio I need to explain something to you and just as well I must do one more thing before I make my leave tonight.”

“What is it Princess?”

The moon began to glow so bright and then from that nearly blinding glow a figure could be seen coming down from the moon. The princess of the night had shown her true form. She stood tall with a brilliant dark blue body and a wonderous flowing mane of what looked like stars in outer space being trapped within its beauty of a somewhat calm flowing darkness.

She is a mix of both Unicorn and pegasus and her beauty is yet to be rivaled by anything here on earth. Her beauty alone has me on showing the upmost honor toward her. She has been my guide since I was young and felt scared at night. She looked upon me with kindness and warmth.

“Rio stand please it is alright you need not be so formal. I remember watching over you when you were only a child. I could hear your cries and I have seen how much your mother and father loved you and how they took care of you. I watched over you whenever they were not around.”

She placed a hood under my chin and raised my head to meet her warm loving motherly eyes.

“I would always move the clouds just enough to let my glow fill your room with my light so that you would not truly need to fear the darkness.”

Author's Note

Enjoy ^_^

Chapter 8

I spoke up.

“Princess why do you speak to me with such kindness? What have I done to deserve such a gift as your kindness upon me?”

She gently kissed my cheek and told me.

“It is because you placed your faith upon me to guide you for your entire life and for that I am truly honored. Rio I must make my leave soon but first I must give you something.”

I looked upon her beauty and noticed how she began to glow and at the same time Lil Rio began to match the very same glow.

“Princess what are you doi…”

Just then I noticed Lil Rio’s body was growing in size to the point of being a full grown stallion the glow surrounding him must be Luna’s power taking hold and . Just as well his cutie mark had changed to that of a shield bareing six angels in total with three wings on each side of the shield with a few black feathers being placed in each wing.

After Luna had finished she spoke once more to me.

“Rio it is done. I want you to know something very important. I created this pony just for you from my very being. You have taken good care of him and for that he will always love you like his father. I noticed she began to teeter. I ran to her side before she fell.

“LUNA whoa easy. Princess what happened to you? Are you going to be okay?”

“I will be fine Rio I just used a fair amount of energy changing Rio into what he is now along side with changing his cutie mark.”

I held Luna lovingly like she was my mother who is I have been without for years since her passing.

“Luna please tell me your going to be okay.”

She looked up at me with a smile and spoke sweetly.

“Rio I am the princess of the night and as such I gain power from the night which are currently in.”

She looked at her current position and the tears in my eyes and adjusted herself so that she was in a relaxed snuggled position in my arms with her front legs stretch out across my lap and her head begin held comfortably in my arms.

“Princess why are you doing that?”

She let out a calm sigh of relief.

“I am warm in your arms and I have never been held like this except by my sister Celestia. It has been a long time since I have felt this comfortable. You hold me like a child holds their mother lovingly and I have never felt what that sensation feels like until now.”

“I do love you Luna just like I loved my mother when she was alive.”

Luna had regained her strength and when she stood before me once again she kissed my forehead.

“I love you too my sweet Rio.”

After her words left her lips she rose into the moon illuminated skies and vanished into its embrace.

“Just like I have Lil Rio I am her child as well in her eyes.”

“Dad are you ok?”

I looked up almost forgetting that I still had Lil Rio there on the balcony with us.

“Oh ya I…”

I looked upon him and couldn't help but be amazed by his size and stature.

“Whoa Lil buddy you sure have grown up. oh kids how they grow up so fast. Wow now I feel old.”

He trotted over to me and gave me a hug. I was almost put to my knees with his strength because he stood at about my height but most of his force was put on my shoulders since his hugs consisted of him wrapping his front legs around my neck and him nuzzling me.

“You’re not old dad don’t be silly. Whoa…. hey…dad why are you crying? whats wrong? did I hurt you…. i’m so sorry.”

Before I knew it the little foal Rio that I had taken care of for so many months was all grown up right before my eyes and I meant that literally too. He truly did grow up right before my eyes because of what Luna did to him but I knew there had to be a good reason for it.

“I…I just…. I love you son I really do. You’re not the little foal I remember taking care of.” “You’re all grown up now and I just don’t know what to do.”

Rio Jr spoke up while nuzzling me to make me feel better.

“Dad I love you very much and i’m still your son… I always will be.” “That I promise you is never going to change.” “I love you dad. You have given me a home to live in and the love of not just yourself but the love of your friends too. Just like how a family is.”

I looked upon him and he was dawning a smile and tears as if mirroring me. Just then Luna reappeared on the balcony of my home standing strong as if renewed. She looked upon me with a commanding look about her.

“Rio stand before me.”

I looked at her with awe. Her eyes began to glow a blazing blue and I could feel a force surrounding me that shined with a bright blue glow. The black sweater that my mom had given me many years ago now dawned icons of great honor.

“Princess what are these?”

The glow from her eyes faded and a smile appeared on her muzzle.

“Rio those icons that I have placed upon your garment are the icons of my personal guard and the division of which your son Rio is the leader of.”

I looked upon the patches on my sweater and they showed “Luna’s Angels guardian of Ponyville” The other one I sort of knew but only because of the show yet it was different. It was a Wonderbolt symbol that dawned a shield with wings of blue, white and gold feathers with a gold trim on the outside.

The middle of the shield was holding the Wonderbolts mark of pride which was a lighting bolt. I turned my head upon the Princess and asked.

“Luna what is this symbol?”

She placed a hoof on the symbol and spoke.

“This is the symbol of the Earthstriders which is a division of the Wonderbolts dedicated to Earth Ponies who have shown great feats of strength, agility, and the pride to protect their land from any form of danger.” “Your son Rio is the Captain of the Earthstriders.”

“I created this division after seeing what the future held for your son Rio.” “He is also going to fall in love with a very beautiful earth pony.”

I gave her a questioning look and she whispered in my ear who it was. Applejack was her name and I knew of her. After she told me I looked upon my son and could only smile and be proud.

“I knew one day he’d find his true love. I did kinda figure it to be her. So princess this is all in the future?”

She nodded and gave me a hug.

“It is time Rio.”

I held a face of mild shock

“Time…time for what?”

Luna walked over to Rio Jr and created a portal back to Equestria and that’s when it hit me. She was telling me all of these things because it was time to say goodbye to my son.

“Luna wait…why…why does he need to leave now?”

“His time has come to return to his true home and live the rest of his there where he truly belongs. I created him for you to take care of and show me that you truly are a man of kindness and not a man who has lost his faith and hope.”

“You truly are strong Rio…never forget who you are on the inside and you must always know that wherever you and your son are always know that you are both making each other proud. Remember your love for one another and never forget that there will always be that link between you two.”

“Princess can I have a few minutes with my son before he goes please?”

“Take your time.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1K3OJ_COWA

Credit for this wonderful music goes to David Larson please listen while reading the following.

I beckoned Lil Rio over to my side and held out my hand to him. He placed his hoof on my hand and from man to man or stallion I guess I should say and we shook each others hand/hoof. After that however we could not hold our composer.

I fell to one knee and came down to his height and wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tightly. I could see tears forming in his eyes and his lip was trembling as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

“Dad I’m really going to miss you. I…I love you dad I really really do.” “Please promise me you’ll never forget me….please.”

I spoke with a soft yet fatherly tone.

“Silly filly…how could I ever forget the little foal that brought my life so much joy huh.”

Lil Rio spoke through his tears.

“It’s just we’ll never see each other again will we?”

I looked upon Luna who was showing signs of tears but was keeping her composer. She shook her head knowing what I my question was. I had my answer needless to say I wasn’t happy with it but I didn’t have a say in the matter.

“I can’t lie to you Jr…. I don’t think we’ll see each other again but listen to me. I love you with all my heart and I always will. You’re my son and that’s never going to change no matter where we are.”

I could feel Lil Rio’s grip around me tighten.

“Hey…do you…do you remember the first time you called me daddy heh you were so cute back then. The way you woke up every morning just to stumble out of bed.”

We were both crying all of our tears out within those minutes.

“Ya dad I remember. Dad do you remember the very first breakfast you ever made me?”

“How could I forget. Mashed carrots and chocolate milk… your favorite.”

“Jr I’ll never forget how you knew when I was holding you how you’d get comfortable by stretching out your legs across my chest and falling asleep like that.” “You only ever did that when you knew it was me holding you while you were asleep.”

He released his grip around my shoulders and I brought my forehead to his while placing one hand under his chin and one hand between his ears.

“I have something for you to remember me by.”

With a tear filled smile on my face and surprise him by gently tackling him so as to flop him on his back and began to give him chin scratches and belly rubs for the final time.

His reaction was as it always was. Happy sighs a slight tail wag. after I finished he stood and told me he had something for me too. He looked at me and gave me the biggest sloppiest lick he has ever given me.

“aw Jr that’s nasty.”

I said while laughing through my tears.

The lick was basically our way of showing affection from father to son. I knew I couldn’t match it but I still gave him a big loving lick on his nose to show him love and affection back.

Finally it was time to truly say goodbye. Luna beckoned Lil Rio over to the portal and I made my way close to it and said my final goodbyes to my son and Luna.

“Princess Luna I want to personally thank you for bringing Lil Rio into my once lonely life and giving me hope and the strength to move forward once again.”

I knelt down on one knee and bowed my head to her.

“Jr”.

I said as I gave him one last hug.

“Thank you for giving me a son to look after and a reason to take care of myself once more. It’s thanks to you that I am once again inspired to be who I once was.” Thank you my son.” “I know I have said this already but I am very very proud of you.

“Thanks dad…I love you.”

“Love you too son.”

Luna was the first through the portal with Lil Rio following suit but not after one last word.

“Goodbye dad….I’ll never forget about you I promise.”

“Goodbye son…I’ll never forget about you either….This I swear.”

When the portal closed I could feel my heart stop for a few moments and I knew it was because It was missing a big piece of itself where Lil Rio left his mark.

I knew however that everything would be okay. I was going to keep moving forward in my life not just for myself but because I was inspired once more by my loving son Lil Rio. I spoke once more to the night sky which was slowly being taken over by Celestia’s glow being the sun.

“I’m going to miss you buddy” I whispered to myself as I remember all of the great times we had together as father and son.

“I’ll make you proud Lil Rio.”

Fin.

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed it. brohoof to all /). By the way I hope you all know that all of the music I posted with this, none of that is my work I have given due credit to those who have made those wonderful pieces and that I am only using that music because I felt that it gave the perfect atmosphere to my story as I read it.