A Mother's Guide to Raising A Colt
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A Mother's Guide to Raising A Colt

"Fluttershy…" I felt myself mumble in my sleep when a pair of hooves hugged lovingly across my chest. I felt a small smile form on my face until I heard somepony giggle right behind me. My eyes shot open during this surprise. When I was awake, I indeed felt something physical on my chest. I looked down to see a pair of not yellow, but night blue hooves around my body. I lightly gasped and slowly turned around. I saw an unexpected pony right behind me on my bed. She was smiling lightly as she remained in her place.

"Mom…!" I almost exclaimed from the startle. My body immediately reacted by throwing itself off from the bed and from her grip. As I continued staring at her in shock, she managed to continue chuckling while a light shade of red formed on my cheeks.

"Fluttershy…?" She repeated, causing me to feel even hotter in embarrassment.

"I…I thought you…were…" I sighed and stopped before I could make myself look even more foolish. "What are you doing here, Mom?"

"I wish to bond with my son." She answered, sitting herself up.

"…by sleeping in my bed with me…?" I questioned, feeling light-headedly confused.

"I can understand how this is strange for you, Alex." She returned. "I thought of it being slightly odd, but it is what is in this book your friend, Twilight Sparkle, lent me." She pulled out a book with her magic and softly sent it towards me.

I grabbed it and looked at the cover, reading the words out loud. "...A Mother's Guide to Raising A Colt." Did Twilight do this on purpose…? "Uh…Mom…" I spoke, sending her back the book. "I don't mean to burst your bubble…but I'm not a colt anymore…"

"I know, I know." She looked at her hooves and tapped them together. "But…I know you always wanted a real mother to have accompanied you when you were young… I cannot accomplish that task, but the least I can do is make up for it. So… I'm going to do my best to be the best mother you could ever have." She looked towards the book. "The book explained that sleeping by your child's side is a very natural and loving exercise. It states that it lets the child know that they are not alone and that their mother is willing to protect them from any danger."

"Oh…" I relaxed my nerves. "Okay." I rubbed my head a bit. "I guess that's fine…" I thought for a moment, thinking back on when I was a colt when I learned on sleeping on my own in my dark room. I was unused to the idea of a mother sleeping with me, so I wasn't completely straightforward. "I guess it does sound something I'd like…" I walked towards the bed and began to lie back down on it.

Before I could place the covers on myself, Luna decided to do the work instead. She grabbed the end of the covers and placed them over me. Afterwards, she quickly and snuggly tucked me in. "Good?" She questioned.

"Uh, yeah." I turned to my side and closed my eyes. "Thanks, Mom… Goodnight."

"Goodnight, my sweet Prince." She stroked the back of my mane a bit as the warmth of her hoof allowed me to fall back asleep easier.

"Alex?" I heard my name being called; initiating my wake as I slowly opened my eyes. When my vision cleared up, I noticed Luna standing in front of me.

"…huh?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Want me to make you breakfast?" She grinned brightly.

"…breakfast?" I rubbed my eye. "Mom…you don't have to do that. Besides, I can go out with my friends to get some breakfast."

"That is fine too!" She returned.

I yawned. "I'll be right back…" I stated as I began getting out of bed. "I'm going to go take a shower and wake myself up a bit…"

I walked towards the bathroom a little sleepily and headed to the shower. I turned the valve and allowed the cool rush of water spray over the bathtub. I jumped in and closed my eyes to be drenched under it. I sighed contently and felt the simulation of rain over me.

However, this inner peace was interrupted when I felt my left hoof lift off from the tub by itself. Something soft was scrubbing against my left foreleg, causing me to be startled once again. I quickly opened my eyes and found that my mother was near the tub, happily scrubbing my left foreleg with a sponge loofa.

"Mom?!" I almost exclaimed out loud. "What are you doing?!"

"Why, I'm bathing you, of course." She answered and lifted the book she was talking about again. "Just another interesting chapter in this book!" She opened it and began reading through it. "Make sure your colt is nice and clean throughout his entire body in order to have him feel as much comfort as possible." She looked up from the book towards me and lightly dropped back my foreleg. "Okay, Alex, come over here really quick."

"M-m-mom, I can bathe myself…really…" I answered, completely feeling embarrassed.

"Do you need me to come in there with you?" She returned with a denying offer. She raised the book in front of her face again and began reading. "If your colt is uncomfortable, he may be looking for your presence to be close to him as much as possible, that is if the both of you are really attached to each other." She closed the book shut and placed it on a counter near the sink. "That's it. I'm coming in there and I'm getting you clean, Alex!"

"No, Mom, MOM!" I tried quickly scurrying out of the bath tub, but I continued to slip and fall with all the water and soap that was on the floor of the tub.

When I finally placed my hooves on the edge of the tub, she placed her hooves on my wings and prevented me from escaping.

"Ah. Ah, Alex. The book says that an unclean colt is an unhappy colt. Your mother is here to ensure that doesn't happen." She sat at the other end of the tub and slowly pulled me away from the edge of the tub with her magic.

"Mom!" I exclaimed.

"Never fear, Alexander." She responded. "Your mother is here!" She raised the sponge loofa high and mighty. "Let the cleaning commence!"

I sat at the side of my bed shaking fiercely as water continued to drop from my drenched mane.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Luna asked from walking out the bathroom door, drying herself with a towel. I remained silent, holding my hooves around my body, due to my trembles. "You could have allowed me to dry you before running off like that…"

"…I-I'm f-fine, M-mom…" My voice shook, proving a contradiction.

Nonetheless, she wrapped the towel around me so I wouldn't shake so much. She hugged me and then looked out the window. "Your aunt has raised the sun beautifully today. Why don't we start on our way towards meeting your friends for breakfast?"

"…S-sure, mom…" I answered, feeling the warmth of her body and towel remove the freezing water from my body. After I was mostly dried up, I walked Luna downstairs. However, I felt and noticed that she was still reading the book in front of her face, grinning and lightly chuckling as she followed me. I looked back as I walked towards the front door. "…you're going to bring that book with you…?"

"Of course! This is just the beginning!"

I sighed. Well…I don't think it should be as bad as Luna bathing me as if I was a baby.

I started by meeting Twilight at her library. I knocked on her door and patiently waited while Luna stood by me, humming and moving her eyes along the words of the book. She turned each page tenderly. Afterwards, the door opened.

"Oh, Alex! Princess Luna! Hey!" Twilight greeted, noticing the book in front of Luna. "Wow, you're really interested in the book, huh?"

"Indeed, Twilight Sparkle." My mom answered, continuing to keep her eyes on the page. "I've never been so exhilarated to read such a book before!"

Twilight chuckled. "Haha, I'm glad to hear that."

"Yeah, um…" I spoke. "That reminds me… Can I have a word with you, Twilight?" I asked.

"Uh, sure. Why? What's wro—"

Before she could finish, I placed my hooves on her chest and pushed her in, looking back at Luna. "I'll be right out, Mom. I just need to speak with Twilight about something."

"Okay, Alex." She responded, keeping her eyes glued to the pages.

When we were both inside the library, I closed the door and faced Twilight, who held a questioning look to her face. "…what was that all about?"

"Why'd you give that book to her?" I asked. "That book is for raising a colt, not a grown stallion."

"I know…" She rubbed her foreleg with her hoof. "But she wanted to bond with you so much after all these years you've been clueless of your relationship with each other… I know you're not a colt, but I just had to give her that book. She just wants to…catch up. Why? Is it not working out?"

"Um…" I sighed. "I understand and really appreciate what she's trying to do, but I think she's taking this a bit too far…"

"Taking it too far? How?"

I remained silent for a moment. "Twilight…she bathed me in the tub this morning…"

I was expecting Twilight to notice how a little…babyish that was. Instead, she giggled. "Aww! That's so cute!"

"Twilight." I placed a hoof on her shoulder, catching her attention. "I'm a grown stallion. I don't need my mom to join and bathe me like I'm a baby."

"Oh…" Twilight returned, shifting her expression. "I'm sorry… I didn't know this would all make you uncomfortable…" She looked towards the door. "I guess I can ask for the book back."

As soon as those words came out of her mouth, I immediately began remembering the look on Luna's face as she excitedly read the words in the book. She had looked so happy… I can't take that away from her… And she's only trying to be the best mother she can be after being unable to do so during my childhood… "Wait." I called Twilight before she could open the door. She looked back at me, awaiting my answer. "…let her keep the book. It makes her happy…" I paused for a moment. "If it makes my mother happy…then I suppose it's fine…"

"You sure…?"

I nodded. "Let's go get breakfast. I'm starving."

"Hehe." Twilight slightly giggled. "Sounds good to me."

Next on our list of invited ponies was Applejack. We walked towards her farm to look for her. We looked around for a moment, but there seemed to be no pony around. It was pretty silent. I glanced over to Twilight, who merely shrugged.

However, my ears slightly twitched when I heard something inside the big red barn.

"I'll go check in there." I announced and then walked towards the door that was ajar to the barn. I lightly pushed it open and looked around with my eyes. It appeared as if somepony was working here just a while ago. Perhaps it was Applejack? I continued looking around while walking inside, calling her out. "Applejack?"

"Gotcha!" I heard her voice whirl towards me. I turned around in time to see her just about to tackle me until a flash of dark blue pushed her away from me. I gasped and noticed Princess Luna holding Applejack down. Applejack was deeply surprised as she struggled to free herself from Luna's hold. "What're you doin?!"

"Thou attempt to harm thy son!" Luna exclaimed defensively.

"Mom, stop!" I raced over to her and began to try to pull her away. "It's alright! She wasn't trying to hurt me!"

"She wasn't…?" She asked, slightly surprised, and released most of her grip on Applejack.

Applejack grunted and stepped away from Luna. "Yeah, I wasn't! I only wanted a little rough play!"

"Oh…" Luna placed a hoof to her lips and then brought it back down to the floor full of bales of hay. "I'm terribly sorry, Applejack. I don't know what got over me…"

Applejack sighed and shook her head to remove any straws of hay left in her hair. "It's fine…"

"Um…" Luna continued a little nervously. "Let us be on our way to breakfast, yes?" Afterwards, she turned and walked out the barn.

"…what was that all about?" Applejack asked, picking up her hat and shaking any hay off of it. She placed it on and continued looking out the barn door.

"She's…very protective of me…" I answered.

"Of course… She is your mother after all."

"Sorry, Applejack…" I apologized, brushing off a few pieces of hay left on her back. I felt really sorry for Luna acting so defensively towards a pony who only wanted a little fun with her friend.

Nonetheless, Applejack switched the frown on her face to a smile and placed a hoof around me. She pulled me closer to her for a warm hug that caused for my right and her left cheek to collide softly. "Aw, don't you fret about that!" She removed her hoof and then began walking with me. "Tell me, how've you been doin'?"

"Uh…" I paused for a moment, trying to choose the best from my list of words to describe the day so far. "Let's just say…I've had one heck of a morning…" I was about to end the sentence, but then I realized how it didn't exactly come out the way I wanted it to. "Not that it was bad or anything…just…no comment really…"

Applejack chuckled lightly. "I hear ya, Alex. So…Princess Luna is going to come eat breakfast with us?"

"Yeah… That's alright, right?" I worriedly asked.

"Of course. As long as she doesn't tackle any other pony down." She joked.

I didn't take her joke as good-humoredly as she did. I felt myself frown a little and look slightly away. "…I wouldn't blame her… She just wants what's best for me and to protect me as much as she can…"

"Oh… Sorry, partner…" Applejack apologized when she realized my expression after her joke.

I shook my head. "It's fine. Come on." I guided her out the barn door.

Afterwards, Applejack offered to go get Rainbow Dash. Twilight decided she could get Rarity. Both of them decided to meet each other on the way to finally get Pinkie Pie. Luna remained with me to catch Fluttershy.

When we arrived at the cottage, everything seemed quiet. The door was closed. Luna and I exchanged a look with each other as we stood at the front door.

"Maybe she's asleep…"I shared. "I'll go check. I'll be right back, okay Mom?"

"Yes, of course, Alex." She answered, pulling out the book to read once again.

I opened the door and quietly walked in, shutting it softly behind me. I heard no sounds in the floor I was in. I gently placed my hooves on each step as I walked up the stairs to her bedroom. I began smiling softly as I felt her presence growing. I slowly walked towards her bed to see her figure hidden by the covers. I moved to her side to see her eyes tenderly closed as she held a hoof over her teddy bear, which was held closely by her. She began mumbling softly.

"Oh, Alex… Of course I do…" She hummed so adorably. "Really…? You love me that much…?"

I softly chuckled and whispered right in her ear. "I do."

This sound caused her to slowly flutter her eyes open. Once she saw me, she yelped in a startling motion, immediately sitting up in her bed. "A-Alex…! What are you doing here?"

I sat by her on her bed and smiled. "My mom, the girls, and I were going to get breakfast. Want to come along?"

While releasing a little tint of redness in her cheeks, she returned a smile as well. "Sure…"

"Great." I beamingly answered and prepared myself to get off the bed.

"One more thing before we go…" Fluttershy placed her hooves on mine and prevented me from getting up.

"Hm?" I asked.

Without sparing another word, she brought me in for a tender loving kiss. The smile on my face stretched softly and I placed my hooves on her shoulders. She allowed herself to lower and fall on the bed, giving me more power on my side of the locked lips. I placed my hooves on hers to caress them strongly but smoothly.

She slightly pulled away for a moment. "Alex…" She commented bashfully as her cheeks filled with an immense glow of scarlet and pink.

Nonetheless, I pushed my head forward, continuing our moment of bliss in silence. We both sustained our releasing emotions of love until I felt a strange presence around me. I opened my eyes and widened them while my lips remained on Fluttershy's. I slowly moved them around to instantly catch something in my sight.

Standing there near the bed was Princess Luna. She was looking at the scene we produced with a delicate yet somewhat mischievous smile. I became shocked by her sight and gasped, pulling my lips away from Fluttershy. "M-mom…! I thought you were waiting outside!"

"I was…" She responded. "But I came in to see what was taking so long… It appears that it was a mistake to do so…" She kept the same look upon her face.

Feeling completely embarrassed, I removed myself and jumped out of the bed. When I looked at Fluttershy, she seemed to feel completely mortified as well. She widened her eyes shockingly and then immediately hid her entire body under the covers.

"Please do not be ashamed, young Fluttershy." Luna offered. "It is very natural for the both of you to be expressing your love for each other in such a manner. Why, soon enough you'll be—"

"Eheheh." I laughed nervously, cutting her off and leading her out of the bedroom. "Why don't you go wait outside, Mom? Fluttershy and I will be down in a moment."

"Oh!" She answered and then thought for a moment. After, she winked at me. "I see what you mean. Of course. I shall wait outside now." She began walking on her own, leaving me to sigh and release a breath of somewhat relief.

"Um…" I expressed as Fluttershy slowly poked her head out from under the covers. "I guess…we should get going now…" I offered, feeling the mood dissolved now.

"Likewise…" She whispered softly.

With some awkwardness leftover from the short scene still lingering around Fluttershy and me, we all began heading our way to the café. Luna still had the same book glued to her face.

"Hehe!" Pinkie Pie giggled in a high pitched voice, shooting her hoof straight towards me after spotting us. "We got here before you did!"

"Yeah…" Twilight asked us on the matter that Pinkie spoke. "Anything happen along the way?"

Fluttershy and I looked at each other for a moment and then away with slightly flushed cheeks.

"No…not really…" I answered.

The three of us then quickly joined them at the table. Starting clockwise, there was Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and then Pinkie Pie. I decided to sit by Rarity. With a grin Luna quickly sat very close by me, leaving Fluttershy to sit on the other side of her next to Pinkie.

I glanced over to Luna for a bit until Rarity caught my attention.

"My, my." She strained, lifting her hoof to grab mine and analyze my foreleg. "You have some rather bothersome dust on your leg, dear." She lifted her other hoof to place it on my leg. "Here, let me brush it off for you."

"Rarity…" I returned. "It's just dust…not poison…" I stated as she delicately wiped my foreleg.

Luna chuckled, grabbing our attention. "Miss Rarity, I had no idea you had such feelings. Alex is quite a handsome stallion, isn't he?"

Rarity's cheeks immediately began glowing red as her rubbing hoof stopped. She remained sitting there with a shocked look. "What?" She quickly asked. "Why, whatever do you mean?"

"I mean that—"

"Okay!" I exclaimed, cutting her off. I chuckled a little nervously, realizing how Rarity's secret was almost revealed to all of Ponyville. "Yes, Mom. I know how I am your son and you'll always find me handsome, but I mean come on…" I couldn't really think of anything to say without hinting Rarity's feelings.

"Of course, Alex, but I—"

"Oh look!" I pointed towards the waiter who was coming our way. "There's our waiter, why don't we get ready to order?"

"What can I get you all for today?" He asked in his usual accent.

"I'll have—"

"My son would love the sunny delight with honey-dipped oats!" Luna answered for me. She faced me and then smiled. "I'll have the same…"

"Why, yes, of course." He scribbled it down on his notepad. "Anything for the fine Princess and her son."

After he received the other orders from the girls, I looked at Luna with a confused and even slightly suspicious expression. "How did you…?"

Luna closed her eyes and answered confidently. "You are my son and thus it is my mother's duty to know such things." I then formed widened eyes at her statement. "Besides…I visit your dreams, remember?"

"…uh-huh…"

"Oh!" She widened her eyes as if she just remembered something. She looked to her side and pulled out something with her magic. "I got you a little present!"

"Present?" I questioned.

"Yes! Look!" She unraveled it to reveal a shirt. On the front, there was a little saying. I heart my mom. "So…? What do you think?!" She asked excitedly.

"Uh…" I sustained, unable to form any words as my eyes stared at the words.

Rainbow began snickering from across the table. "Are you serious?!" She asked, beginning to laugh.

I sent her a still stare, causing her to shut her mouth before she could say anything more that might hurt Luna's feelings. "Um… It looks…nice, Mom. But…don't you think that's more for a little colt to wear?"

"Not at all! Look!" She lifted the shirt and my hooves upwards. Afterwards, she instantly placed the shirt on me, causing me to widen my eyes as I stared at my chest to see the words there now. "See? Not only are you handsome, but you're so adorable too!"

While the others were returning calm speechless expressions, Pinkie and Rainbow were handling it differently on the other hoof.

"Hehe!" Pinkie giggled. "He is!"

Rainbow's eyes were watering as she attempted her best to hold in a laugh. "Yeah!" She snickered. "Just like a little colt!" She banged her hooves on the table, clearly holding in a huge laughter.

I narrowed my eyes and then placed my leg on the table to rest my head on it. Ugh…this can't get any worse, can it…?

"Your food." The waiter walked by and dropped by our food.

"Good! I'm starving!" Rainbow exclaimed.

Once the aroma of the delicious meal entered through my nostrils, I picked myself up a bit and prepared to eat. At least I'll have some food in me…

Just as I was about to pick up the soft delicate pile of leaves and flowers with my fork, Luna sounded near me.

"Here comes the choo-choo train!" She held up a piece of my meal with her own fork in the front of my mouth.

"…what are you doing?" I asked, looking at her bright face.

"I'm feeding you, Alex." She answered. "Now come on, open up!"

"…I can feed myself fine, Mom." I responded, feeling her motherly side come out just like this morning.

"Please? You don't want to be a hungry little stallion, do you?"

Rainbow Dash finally began laughing out loud as hard as she could, having all of Equestria be able to hear her laughter. "This is just too funny! Princess Luna, you have to hang with us every time now!"

"Of course I will." She glanced over to Rainbow Dash and then back at me. "For my little Alexander. Come on, time to let the choo-choo train reach its destination!"

"Mom. Please." I pleaded.

"Just one bite?" She asked.

I closed my eyes and drew a heavy long sigh. Finally, I hesitantly opened my mouth and allowed Luna to feed me like a child. After, I quickly closed my mouth to swallow. Luna picked up a napkin and wiped the corners of my mouth with it.

"I think Alex wants you to feed him more!" Rainbow exclaimed, continuing to laugh and try to breathe between each gasping laugh.

"Rainbow…"I scolded through clenched teeth.

"Now, now." Luna pulled the book up to her face. "If your colt is willing, allow him to try eating on his own."

"But I'm not a colt!" I shouted, catching the attention of some other ponies nearby, who weren't already staring because of Luna's actions.

"Alex, please." Luna shared. "It's not good to exhaust such energy before finishing your meal." She offered, referencing from the book.

I felt myself steaming. Just as I was about to release a huge yell in anger, I stopped myself, sucked in any air, swallowed it in, and forced myself to remove any negativity in my face. "Please excuse me…" I announced quietly and walked away from the table.

I immediately locked myself in the bathroom inside the restaurant. I wanted to release that yell that dwelled inside me along with that other bottled up anger from when I was a colt, but I didn't want the ponies in the restaurant to freak out, so I didn't. Instead, I looked into the mirror and rubbed my temples almost aggressively. I turned on the water faucet and splashed some cold water on my face.

Why am I feeling so much anger towards Luna's attempts to bond with me? I should be appreciating everything she does… I love her but…I just can't help but feel so angry at what she's doing…

I sighed.

My eyes drifted towards the shirt I was still wearing.

Stupid shirt…

I felt like ripping it off and throwing it in the trash but then I immediately punched myself mentally for thinking of such a thing.

What the hay is wrong with you, Alex? Your mother got you that shirt! You're supposed to have a pure heart for Celestia's sake! Why are you showing such hostility towards her gifts?

I growled and then felt like banging my head onto the mirror.

What the hay is wrong with me…?

After trying to have as much time as I could to myself, I finally calmly walked out the bathroom, heading back towards the table and bracing myself for whatever else my mother had planned.

"Is my little one alright?" She asked, causing me to remain silent for a moment.

"…yes, I'm fine, mom…" I answered.

I wasn't sure if Rarity was trying to save me in order to return the favor for saving her minutes earlier, but she spoke out when noticing my mane. "Alex, your mane appears to be in need of a small trim. Why don't you allow me to work with it?" She blinked her long eyelashes twice.

"Uh…sure, okay." I began getting up, but Luna stopped me.

"Don't you want to finish your food first?" She asked.

"I'm…not really hungry anymore…" I returned, remembering after she fed me. "You can have it. I'll…see you later, mom…" Afterwards, I turned back towards where Rarity was waiting for me, already holding her hoof up in quick preparation to leave.

As soon as we entered in her boutique, Rarity sat me down in front of a mirror. She placed a long stylish cloth around my body and ended with a small white piece of cloth around my neck as well. As she began retrieving her utensils for her task, she began talking.

"Back there…that was close…" She began analyzing my mane. "Thank you…"

"It's fine… Let's just hope she doesn't tell the others while we're not there…"

She stopped for a moment in thought and blushed slightly. She gulped lightly and looked around a bit nervously. "Yes… Let's hope…"

She began silently using her scissors lightly as I stared towards the mirror, observing her work. "Rarity, don't you think the others will eventually find out your secret?"

"I…" She stopped for a moment and then continued. "I don't know… Maybe… I'd rather just keep it between you and me… You and I only have business with it, no pony else…"

"I suppose so… As long as there's no harm done…"

Rarity returned silence. If it wasn't for the mirror, I probably wouldn't really be able to tell what was going on inside her head, but judging by her facial expressions, I had a pretty good idea.

After snipping several times, spraying my mane with water, repeating the process, and ending with a light breeze of her hair dryer, she gently brushed my neck with a small brush full of thin bristles.

"There you are." Rarity spoke, allowing me to view myself in the mirror. "No real big change really, just some minor tweaks." She explained.

"Thanks, Rarity." I expressed.

"Hm…" She placed a hoof on her chin and presented herself in front of me. She closely observed my mane and messed with it a bit using her hoof. "Smashing…" She commented softly on my mane. Then, her eyes slowly drifted towards mine. "Handsome…"

I felt a little odd when I noticed her being unable to take her eyes off of me. Fear struck when she began slowly allowing her head to fall towards mine. Her eyes slowly closed and her lips lightly pursed. I became quietly shocked. Just before she could place her lips on mine, I quickly placed my hooves on her shoulders and stopped her.

"Whoa, Rarity." I reacted.

"Huh, hm?" She opened her eyes. She was just a little more alert, but seemed to still be stuck a bit in her trance.

"…I'm worried about you, Rarity…"

"What? Why?" She asked softly, clueless of the situation.

"Can you even see where your lips almost are?" I asked, hinting at the very miniscule space we had between each other.

Once her eyes moved downwards and realized what was going on, she quickly gasped and turned around, hiding the immense amount of redness in her face. "I'm…sorry…"

I sighed. "I'm fine with how you feel about me, Rarity. But you can't let this get out of hoof. Celestia forbid the wreck that our relationship with all the girls might head into if such a small thing happened." I began removing the clothing on me for the haircut with my magic. "I already got into that scrap from the accidental mistake with Derpy. If another thing like that happened…who knows…" I began lowering my head in sadness as I thought about the emotional toll it would take. "…Fluttershy might not even trust me anymore because…the second time…it might just seem like I'm doing it on purpose…"

"You're right… I'm sorry…" She apologized.

"It's fine…" I repeated as she began rubbing her right leg with her left hoof a bit shamefully. She continued to face away from me, and this began making me feel bad inside. I sighed silently and walked to her side. "Hey…" I placed a hoof on her shoulder. "It's nothing you need to be ashamed of… It's just a little crush…"

"Just a little crush?" She asked, turning her head towards me. She presented a sort of scoff. "I almost kissed you, Alex. It's more than just a 'little' crush. You're right…I do need to make sure I do nothing bad…"

I manage to smile a bit. "Put duct tape on your lips whenever you see me?" I joked, wanting to see a smile on her face.

She did so, turning around to see me. "Of course. I'll just tell the others it's the new fashion being produced in Canterlot."

"Haha, there you go."

She giggled and seemed to lock her eyes onto mine. She blushed and quickly looked away. This caused her to frown a bit. "See? It's like you're a magnet…"

"Don't worry…I'll try to help you at least not be just as 'susceptible to my looks'." I mentioned.

"You really think that's such a good idea? Helping me when you're the one I'm attracted to?" She inquired.

"Can't really let any other pony know about this or they might take it the wrong way…" I returned.

"I suppose you're right…" Rarity remained silent for a moment. "Listen, Alex… It's not that I don't want to find you attractive. It is a very good thing in general. It's just that…I don't want to end up making a mistake that'll…cause future ripple issues if you know what I mean…"

"Of course, Rarity… I understand…" I nodded my head caringly. "You're telling me that you want to have the freedom for your feelings for me, but you just don't want anything to drastically change or hurt others from it."

"Yes…Yes…" She agreed.

I placed a hoof on her shoulder again. "Don't worry. I'll try to help you find a way to manage through it."

Rarity lightly placed her hoof on mine as well. "Thank you, Alex…"

We warmly smiled at each other until a foreign voice interrupted us.

"Why reject thy kiss?"

I immediately turned around and noticed my mother sitting nearby, having no idea how long she was actually there for.

"Mom!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

"Watching over my little colt." She answered. "Why do you deny a kiss from such a beautiful mare? Isn't that good?"

As I felt Rarity holding her hoof to her head, feeling complete embarrassment, I sighed loudly. "Mom, you don't get it. It doesn't work that way."

"Hm?" She tilted her head.

Remembering how she was in the moon for a thousand years, I decided I could explain. "It's not about 'getting as many kisses as you want to show how handsome or beautiful you are'. Love is a special bond between two ponies. If you kiss another pony in a wrong way, it's like demeaning to the bond. It's hard to explain but…" I looked down towards my chest and noticed the shirt Luna gave me. "Okay, okay." I cleared my mind. "It's like…" I paused for a moment. "It's like if I removed this shirt you gave me to only wear another shirt some other pony gave me."

I saw Luna lightly gasp. She closed her mouth and looked at the floor. "Oh… I see… I understand now… Sorry…"

"It's fine… Listen… Please, don't tell any other pony about this, okay Mom? Not that it's bad or anything… We'd just want to respect Rarity's wishes and feelings." I offered. She silently nodded. "Great… Well…" I thought for a moment. "I think I'll head over to Twilight's. I feel like practicing with my magic for a while. Besides, we're both Alicorns now. If Twilight's going to be getting any new lessons from Tia, it'd be nice to catch up so I can study with her."

"Okay…" Luna rubbed her hoof.

"Alright…" I stopped in front of her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "See you, Mom…" I faced back towards Rarity. "See you later, Rarity. Thank you."

"My pleasure…" She waved her hoof softly, still a little embarrassed about the situation.

After I left Rarity's, I headed towards the library and knocked on the door. Twilight was there to open it and reveal herself with a warm smile. "Hey there, Alex. Already back from Rarity's?"

"Yeah." I answered while I couldn't help but remember the situation at the boutique. "I came by and was wondering if we could work on some magic together? I was figuring, you know…" I extended my wing and playfully poked hers with it. "Since we're both Alicorns, maybe I could hopefully catch up to the same level with you where if you get any more lessons from Tia, we could actually be students together?"

Twilight's face immediately beamed up at the idea of the both of us being pupils together under Celestia's wing. "That sounds great! Princess Celestia did hint about Princess stuff I would have to learn! Maybe there's stuff about being a Prince for you too?" Twilight gasped and then began bouncing around in excitement. "Oh! Oh! If we're both learning together, we could study together! We could practice together or even on each other! I don't have to do it all by myself anymore!" She began laughing joyfully and she bounced around her library, seeming to represent herself as Pinkie Pie for a moment.

I chuckled and placed my hooves on her to calm her down a bit as I stopped her from bouncing when she was near me. "Alright, alright. I know it sounds awesome, Twilight, but we'll have to wait to see what happens first. Right now, let's just work on some magic, alright?"

Twilight giggled and blushed a little for letting herself go a bit. "Hehe…yeah…you're right…"

Twilight and I walked inside towards the area near the bookshelves. "So, what's first? Considering how you're still majorly more advanced than I am, what do you suggest we start on?"

"Oh!" She pointed her hoof up. "Let's skim through my magic books! I'll find some neat spells and see if I can teach you some!"

"Sounds good to me." I answered with a smile.

She turned her head towards one of the shelves and pulled out a book with her magic. She placed it down on the floor and laid down, opening it and flipping through the pages. I joined her on lying on the floor and looked at the book as well.

"Hm… Let's see…" She spoke as she flipped through the pages. "Well…there is a spell for you that could be handy." She turned the pages until she came across it. "It's a sort of levitation spell. Since unicorns don't have wings, they usually count on this spell sometimes." She placed her hoof on the words describing it. "See, when you're falling, this spell allows your velocity, due to gravity, to slow down, but just for a bit! For example, say if you didn't have wings, but you needed to jump to somewhere else that's not too far, but far enough where you couldn't get to if you normally jumped. Like if you were trying to get to another hill or mountain but between that distance was a terrible foggy depth, this spell would come in handy. If you jumped and casted this spell, you would be allowed to travel farther at a slower rate of speed towards the ground, instead of just completely being helpless while plummeting to your doom. But this is only useful for the first few seconds. If you're trying to go somewhere really far, you would start off slow, but as more seconds pass, you'll be gaining more and more speed where you almost return to your regular rate of velocity towards the ground. Understand?" She asked as she grinned brightly towards me.

I blinked my widened eyes in silence a few times, as she had explained it all really quick and excitedly. My ear twitched a bit. "I think so…"

Twilight continued smiling as she signed contently. "Here, let me show you." She stood up and walked upstairs. "Now, stand right below me." I stood up and did so, staying at the exact area where she wanted me to. "Now, normally, if I jumped from this floor to your floor, I would fall pretty fast and possibly hurt myself, right?"

"Right…?" I asked, understanding what she was explaining, but trying to guess on what she was exactly going to do.

"Watch. Catch me." She immediately hopped off and fell towards me. I was a bit surprised, but I threw my hooves out and caught her, the impact of her body almost causing me to fall to the floor. "Good!" She tapped her hooves together in applause and allowed herself back on the floor. "Now…" She walked up the stairs and looked towards me again. "This time, you don't have to catch me. I'll show you the difference with the spell."

"Okay…"

She closed her eyes and focused the magic on her horn. As soon as she hopped off, her aura surrounded her body and she immediately began gliding softly towards the first floor, almost like a feather. However, I couldn't see what she meant by gaining speed as time passed, as the library didn't hold much height. Once she landed perfectly safe, she opened her eyes and looked at me. "Get it?"

"Uh…yeah. That's pretty cool." I responded.

"It is, isn't it?" She asked, enthusiastically. "And there's much more than that!" She laid back down to analyze the book, where I joined right by her. She continued flipping through the pages, where there were plenty more spells that seemed nice to perform. It wasn't until she stopped and lightly blushed at one. "Oh." She lightly giggled.

"What?" I asked, smirking at her expression.

"It's this spell." She pointed towards it. "I never really got to practice it because…well…take a look for yourself."

I looked towards the book. I placed my eyes on the first page of the spell. The Kiss of Life. The title lightly amused me. Below the title was a picture where there were two silhouetted ponies and what appeared to be a transfer of light in the middle of their bodies. "This spell allows an exchange of energy, powerful enough to actually bring conscious, in other words, life towards a pony that might have been ridden of it." I raised my head and looked at Twilight who was appearing to be a bit embarrassed of the description. I sent her another playful smirk and looked back at the book to continue reading. "This spell must be used quickly within a certain amount of time after the pony loses life, otherwise, it will not work." I stopped reading and looked at Twilight with a question. "So…how exactly does this work, then?"

"Well…say you…um…were…you know…like…almost at the wedding with Shining Armor and Princess Cadence…" Twilight almost seemed to hurt herself when remembering that scene. However, I nodded. "This may have been used to bring you back, if you did not already bring yourself back on your own. Well…this spell is honestly a real mystery. I don't remember it ever being used so I have no information on what the exact criteria is that must be met for it to work. So…it may not work all the time… But if you did manage to do this…" She looked towards the book. "It still comes at a cost. Depending on your magical energy, this can severely weaken you. You're exchanging your own energy to bring another pony back to life. If you use this too much, or you're already too weak, it can even kill you!"

"Whoa…" I commented.

"Yeah…but as long as you use it once, maybe even twice, you should be alright…just really exhausted." She explained.

"I see… but…how could you even practice this anyway? Wouldn't a pony have to be…you know?" I asked.

"Well…not necessarily… You can practice this on a healthy pony. The correct outcome would be you losing energy and the other pony feeling stronger. Of course, as I've mentioned before, it wouldn't be safe to do this too many times. But it's too bad… I was really interested in this spell, but I'm unable to study it any further…"

"Because you have nopony to practice on?" I smiled, feeling I would be able to tease her a bit.

She chuckled a little with her mouth closed. "Yeah…"

"I can go see if I can get Fluttershy's permission for you to practice with me." I joked with a friendly smirk. "After all, it's for educational purposes."

Twilight immediately blushed and looked away. "Shut up…" She answered in a playful yet embarrassed manner. "Besides, it's really like CPR. You know, mouth-to-mouth? When in such a situation, you have to be serious and not worry about, 'Oh no, it's kissing. Ew. I don't want to do that.'" She mocked.

I laughed. "Don't tell me that. That's more like Rainbow Dash."

She smiled, shrugged, and closed the book. "I guess that spell will be a mystery for who knows how long. But you never know, there may have to be a time where you really need to save Fluttershy…or maybe even one of us."

I nodded. "I understand."

"Well, enough of that!" Twilight closed. "Want to take a break and have some of the delicious punch Spike made yesterday?" She offered cheerfully.

"Sure, that sounds nice." I accepted warmly. She was about to turn around to go retrieve it, but suddenly, her body jerked a bit and was suddenly thrown towards me, surprising the both of us. Her impact caused the both of us to fall towards the floor. Our lips were almost close to each other, but I wasn't worried about another dangerous situation like Rarity's. "…Are you alright…?" I asked in a confused manner.

"I think so…" She returned, completely clueless. "That was weird. I don't know why I was just thrown like tha—"

Her head seemed to be forcibly shot towards mine, but it was tilted and caused for the both of our cheeks to be pressed together. Twilight remained silent and looked at me as I looked at her back, the both of us completely unaware of what was going on. Her head continuously moved for some reason, but the result would lead to our cheeks being pressed against each other. It wasn't until I managed to look past and notice something different on the second floor of the library. When my eyes focused, I saw Luna there working her magic. She held her tongue out and highly appeared to be deeply concentrated with her magic as if she was trying to stick a piece of thread into a needle. Once I noticed the dark blue aura around Twilight as she was continuously brought into my intimate space, I narrowed my eyes in annoyance as Luna was really taking this too far now.

"Mom!" I shouted after having enough of it.

"Hm?" She responded, ceasing her magic and allowing Twilight control now.

I managed to get back up and face her angrily. "I thought I already discussed this with you!"

"I know…" She rubbed her hoof shyly a bit. "But you were talking about love…and then I remembered on how you said you loved your friends like Twilight Sparkle…so I thought it would be okay to kiss those who you love…I mean, I would be fine if you wore a shirt Princess Celestia gave you because she's my sister after all!"

"There's a limit, mom!"

She placed a hoof to her lips. "…but you can still kiss?"

I growled loudly inside and felt myself tense up. Twilight noticed my condition and quickly reacted by placing her hooves on me.

"Alex, Alex, Calm down. Why don't you go outside for a bit? I'll keep Princess Luna busy."

My eyes closed tightly and I released a huge steam of breath out my nose. "Fine…" Afterwards, I quietly stormed out the library.

After feeling the fresh breeze against my coat, I felt the best place to calm my anger was at Applejack's.

I thought as I looked around the farm for Applejack. I never thought I would be so annoyed with my own mother, besides the foster one. It's just…she's taking this thing so far! Yeah, I'm her "handsome little colt", but that doesn't mean she should try getting me love and kisses from the other girls besides Fluttershy!

I suddenly heard something being thrown around in the barn. I walked towards it and saw Applejack using teeth to toss some bales of hay on one side of the area.

Feeling anger still linger in me, I walked towards her and greeted her. "Hey, Applejack."

"Howdy, Alex." She stopped her task and looked towards me.

"Can I borrow this for a minute?" I asked with a feign smile, directing to one of the bales of hay.

"Sure!"

"Thanks." I grabbed the rope holding together the hay with my teeth and dragged it out quietly towards the outside.

Afterwards, when the hay was set, I looked towards it for a moment. I sighed heavily and finally raised my back legs. I threw my legs towards the hay, striking it fiercely. With each kick, I grunted aggressively. When I felt my most of my energy exhausted, I gave one last blow until I was panting heavily with sweat dripping down my face.

"Whoa, partner! What was that all about?" Applejack questioned, appearing to have witnessed the scene from out the barn doors.

"My mother's been making me angry…" I answered.

She walked over to me. "Why? What's she doing?"

"You saw what happened at breakfast." I responded. "I was able to bear the 'little' colt stuff, but now she's just going too far! She was trying to make Twilight kiss me with her magic!"

"Whoa, what the?" Applejack was puzzled. "Why on earth would she want to do that?"

"It's a long story…" I shook my head. "In a nutshell, she thinks it should be alright to share my love with all of you through kisses…and she means it on the lips… I told her there was a limit on what I could do…but she just doesn't seem to understand…"

"Aw, shucks…" Applejack frowned a bit. "I'm mighty sorry about that."

I sighed. "She's a great mom… I know she's trying her best…but it's just really irritating me…"

"Hm…" She tapped her hoof on her chin. "Say, I got an idea! Why don't you and I wrestle back in the barn? That'll get your mind off of it! And it'll release that anger too!"

I was surprised. "Wrestle…? I don't think so Applejack…"

"Well, why the hay not?" She politely and softly demanded.

"I just wouldn't feel right wrestling you…"

She raised an eyebrow. "…what do you mean?"

I released a breath through my nose. "…One: I've never really wrestled before. Two: You're a mare. Three: You're one of my best friends. I couldn't ever bear the thought of hurting you."

Applejack studied me for a moment and prepared for her response. "One: Well, now's the perfect time to learn!" She threw out her forelegs joyfully, but then brought them down in slight irritation. "Two: Are you sayin' that just because I'm a mare means I can't wrestle? Three: We're not hurtin' each other, we're just havin' some fun! Besides… is that a challenge I hear?"

I remained silent for a moment and then offered another response. " One: Um… I don't know if it is indeed "the perfect time to learn". Two: Of course not, it's just…you know… And Three: I can't really see any fun in wrestling…and no…I'm not challenging you whatsoever."

"Nah." She shook her head. "I'm not takin' 'no' for an answer. You and I and wrestling and that's that." She grabbed my hoof and began dragging me towards the barn.

"…Applejack…" I spoke, really wanting to back away from this…well…forced invitation.

Once we were in the middle of the barn, the hay filled floor being safe for such an occasion, Applejack released my hoof and turned herself in front of me. She lowered and prepared herself. "Get ready, Alex!"

"I don't want to do this…" I returned.

"Come on, Alex! Please?" I remained silent, turning away. Applejack sighed. "Ready or not, here I come!" She pounced towards me.

I didn't know how long it took, or what exactly happened, but I ended up being on the floor with my stomach towards the ground. Applejack was on top of me, lying on my back with her hooves on mine. I didn't place any effort. I really just didn't want to hurt her or anything.

"Come on, Alex! You're not even tryin'!"

"Sorry, Applejack…but I just can't do anything that might hurt you…"

She remained quiet. I couldn't see what her facial expression was, as I was on the floor and just looking towards the other side of the barn, continuing to feel her weight on me. After a moment, I felt something grabbing my ear and being tugged at. I turned my eyes towards Applejack to see her hold my left ear in her mouth and pulling it continuously. "What are you doing?"

"Tryin' to get you up and runnin'." She answered through muffled speech.

"Oh, yeah." I began in sarcastic tone. "That'll definitely make me wrestle you."

"Hey there." She released my ear. "If I really wanted you to wrestle me, which I do, but didn't really think about your feelings, I would be hittin' you in the—"

"What?!" I looked back at her, surprised, not allowing her to finish. "That wouldn't motivate me at all! That's just downright evil!"

"Maybe you're right. Maybe that is going a little too far…" There was a moment of silence. "So…watcha wanna do then…?"

"I don't know…" I merely shrugged.

"Okay…sorry…" She finally released her weight on top of me and got off. She held out her hoof towards me and helped me up. "I guess I should understand why you don't wanna wrestle…but do you think sometime we can wrestle?"

"Hm…maybe Applejack…maybe when I'm not such in an aggravated mood…"

"Well…" Applejack cheered herself up a bit. "I guess a good hug is close enough of a wrestle for me!" She threw her hooves around me and squeezed me tightly, making me feel a little better as I chuckled at her behavior.

However, in the middle of her meaningful hug, a flash of blue pulled her away. Soon enough, she was being squeezed tightly by Princess Luna. "Ooh! I want to wrestle!" Applejack seemed to be having a hard time breathing with Luna's action. "So much fun!"

"Mom!" I scolded once again and ran after her. "Stop! You're hurting her!" I placed my hooves on her hold and pried them off to release Applejack. She fell towards the hay and began trying to recuperate her breath.

"Oh…" Luna placed a hoof to her mouth. "…too much fun?"

"Mom, I understand that you want to be with my friends and me, but I'm just trying to relax a bit here!"

"…relax?" She questioned.

"…I just need some time with my friends…"

"But, the book." She pulled out the instructional book for colts. "We must bond as much as we can if we are ever to be really close to each other!"

"For the last time…that book is for colts. I…am a fully grown adult…" I tried to answer calmly as I felt my anger rise again.

"Nonsense! You'll always be my…" She took a quick glance at the book. "…wittle colty wolty!" I quickly turned away from her and growled. This was seriously getting to me. I rubbed my hooves on my temples fiercely. "Aw, does my little prince need a hug?" She placed her forelegs around me. I don't know why. I just couldn't take it anymore. I lost it.

"NO!" I shouted, pushing myself away from her and surprising her. "I've had enough of it! I'm not a baby! I'm not your little prince! Stop treating me like a dumb colt! I know how to take care of myself! I don't need anypony buying me these stupid shirts…" I quickly removed my shirt and threw it towards Luna. "…or feeding me like some foal! I'm tired of it all! I don't need a mother, so just leave me ALONE!"

My sudden outburst created a deep silence between us all. Even Applejack was lying on the hay, shocked. I could say the same thing for Luna. I was panting heavily as she only continued to stare at me in shock and silence. Finally, she lowered her head and gently caressed the shirt on the floor of hay. "I'm sorry…" She apologized with her voice breaking. She held on to the shirt as she began walking out the barn. "You're right… You don't need me… I'll…" She sniffled. "…leave you alone now…" Afterwards, she silently walked out and disappeared from sight.

I soon enough came to my senses and realized how much of an idiot and fool I had been. I had let my anger get the best of me…

"Oh no…" My ears flopped down, lowering my head in sadness. Applejack brushed the hay off her and walked towards me. "I didn't mean to do that… I didn't mean to say that… I didn't mean any of that!" I almost felt need to cry for being so horrible to my own mother that actually cared and wanted to love me. Applejack placed a hoof on me, holding a frown on her face. "I'm sorry, Applejack… I have to go!" I quickly ran out the barn.

I searched through the whole town as much as I could. The sun soon lowered and night began to take over. Even the moon was raised. The thought of Luna raising the moon by herself haunted me. It completely shattered my heart into pieces imagining her do so after all the horrible things I told her.

After feeling immensely helpless, I walked into my home where it all started. I wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Nonetheless, I was about to fall sadly onto my bed until I saw a mare staring at my shelf, which held the award and gifts given to me…

I widened my eyes and opened my mouth.

"…Mom…"

She gasped and turned around. As soon as she noticed it was me, she turned her head towards the floor. "I'm sorry… I know you don't like me…Let me just leave you be…"

Before she could walk past me, I quickly embraced her tightly, stopping her. I felt a few tears want to escape my closed eyes. "No, Mom! I don't like you! I love you! I really do! I'm sorry for all the horrible things I said! I was just so angry! Please forgive me!"

"A-Alex…" She reacted, speechless.

I pulled away from her and wiped my eyes. "It was all my fault, mom… I honestly love you… I really do…but… I think it was just the horrible parenting I had received when I was a child. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to place the blame on something else. It was my fault. It's just…" I paused for a moment, shaking my head. "I was absolutely not used to all the…well…babying I got from you… I've grown up to be independent on my own when it comes to those sort of things, mom… When you started doing them…I just started feeling like…like if you thought I was worthless and couldn't do them on my own and that you were somehow mocking me because I needed to count on you…"

"B-but, Alex…" She quickly answered. "I would never think that! You're a brave and bold co- I mean stallion! I only wanted to make up for those years I was never able to be your mother!"

"I know, I know, mom…" I immediately assured. "It's just…what I was feeling because…growing up without loving parents…it's hard…you just build up all this anger against them… and then you end up releasing it on those who actually love you…"

"Oh, Alex…" She embraced me once again. "I apologize deeply! I didn't mean to cause you any harm! I only wanted to love and cherish you! Please forgive me as well…"

"It's fine, mom…but…" I raised my head and looked towards her. "You don't have to follow that stupid book and treat me like a colt in order to love and bond with me…"

"I don't…?" She questioned.

"No…" I shook my head. "You can just love and bond with me by just being there for me…" I placed a hoof to my cheek. "Well…maybe not all the time…but especially staying when I'm down or even sick… And we can spend time together like talking or going out! You don't need to stick by me like I'm a colt…"

"As long as you're happy, Alexander… I'm happy to do whatever pleases you…"

I smiled lightly. "Thanks, Mom…"

"Also..." She brought up. "I hope this doesn't make you angry...but in the book... I read that parents sometimes express their love for their children through a kiss...on the lips..." She rubbed her hoof on her foreleg, looking away, but then turning her eyes towards me. It appeared that she was afraid of another outburst from me.

Instead, I widened my eyes, blinked a few times, and then looked away. "Wow... Um... I never knew that..."

"Would...thou be okay with that?" She asked, a little shyly.

"Geez, Mom...um... I don't know... I mean, I know you mean this as an affectionate mother thing...but...I'd probably feel a little weird or awkward about it to be honest... I never knew your own mother could kiss you on the lips and I find it...strange... Maybe it'd be okay if I was a colt..."

"It's fine, Alexander. As I've stated, I only wish for you to be happy. I'm perfectly fine with kissing you on the forehead." She placed her hooves on my head and planted a gentle kiss on my forehead, causing me to smile.

I shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe one day..." I thought about it, understanding how this could be so, as Luna and I are related in blood, and a kiss doesn't necessarily have to be between a couple... I see how it could be between a mother and a colt as a sign of family love and affection...but it still doesn't feel like I could do something like that. Nonetheless, I continued to smile towards my mother.

She smiled as well, but then turned to something she was holding. It was the shirt she had gotten for me. "Well… I believe you don't need this anymore…"

She was about to get rid of it until I stopped her.

"Now, now. Hold on a second…" I grabbed the shirt with my magic and brought it downstairs, having Luna follow me. I walked towards my little art area in the living room and focused on it. "I think we can make this just a little better…" I centered my eyes on the words and erased them from the shirt with my magic, causing it to become completely white. However, I had changed the color to a black background. Next, I grabbed one of my brushes and dipped them in paint to begin working my magic. In a matter of time, I finally finished my artistic gift on the shirt. "There…" I turned around and presented it towards Luna.

She gasped at the sight of it as she analyzed what I had done. I painted a picture of Luna and me sitting together under the night sky, which was pretty much the background of the shirt. There was a full moon above us. However, humorously, I placed a statement around us on the shirt.

Luna is Best Mom

She was so happy to see this that she actually appeared to want to cry a little in joy.

"I don't know what to say, Alex…"

I smiled warmly. "I love you, Mom…"

She smiled tearfully as well. "I love you too, Alexander…"

We both embraced each other for a joyous moment as I could feel the bond between us strengthen immeasurably.

Luna then opened her eyes as she had closed them during the hug. Her eyes drifted towards my brushes and she smiled a bit. "Why don't you teach your mother about painting a little…?" She offered.

Luna

Alexander and I had an enormous amount of fun painting. During our little activity together, we even managed to dirty ourselves with paint somewhat. However, I had kept him up so long during our night that he wore himself out. He fell asleep in my hooves. I know I wasn't supposed to be… "babying" him…but I thought for a moment, that I could still be his mother and care for him when he's unable to.

I carried him up the stairs and towards his bathroom. I placed him in the tub and allowed the water to surround his body. I delightfully, softly, and carefully washed him to remove the paint off of him and cleanse him in order to have him as comfortable as possible. The book contained the right ideas…I just needed to adapt them towards a mature stallion…

After cleaning myself up a bit as well, I dried my little prince and sent him to bed. As he lay there breathing softly, I hovered the blankets over him and softly tucked him in as I hummed to him slowly. I placed my hoof on his forehead and brushed his mane to the side of his head.

"Goodnight, Alexander…" I lowered my head towards his forehead and placed a gentle kiss on there once again.

This seemed to have woken him up slightly. His eyes remained closed, yet he spoke to me.

"You know, mom… I've... I've always loved your night…because…it's just…just…real peaceful and beautiful…just…like you…" He mumbled sleepily.

I was deeply astonished by this statement of his.

I wanted to cry tears of joy, but I couldn't wake him up.

As I turned to try to hide my face, despite his inability to see so anyway, I noticed something. There was a letter on his nightstand. When I walked towards it, I found that it was addressed to my sister.

Dear Tia Celestia, I've learned an important lesson on…well…not friendship…but…family… You see…I… I accidentally said some hurtful things to my mom and your sister, Princess Luna. But after a fortunate exchange of words with her, I've found that I really have a loving mother who I shouldn't get after at. I shouldn't let my past mother and family problems interfere with my new family. Luna is a beautiful and loving mother, and she deserves all the respect and love she can get. She's shown me that today. From now on, I just want to show her how great of a son and prince I can be. Your faithful nephew, Alex.

The words on that letter truly warmed my heart. I sighed and looked over to him.

"You're such an amazing son…" I whispered.

I thought for a moment and realized that I could perhaps spend time with him for the rest of the night. I placed my hooves on his bed and laid down next to his warm body. I placed my hoof around him and stroked his coat softly.

"I hope you don't mind me staying a while longer…" I muttered and then closed my eyes.

There's always a place for you in my heart.