Chapter 4

We spent the next few hours at the pool doing laps, sunbathing, and chatting while taking a soak in the pool’s hot tub. It wasn’t until our stomachs started grumbling that it was time for us to leave and grab lunch. Once we showered and changed, we went back to the house to drop off our pool bag before walking over to our favorite pizza place for lunch. We made our order, grabbed our drinks, the parmesan and red pepper, and took a seat at one of the vacant tables.

“So we’re still going wherever I want, today?” Mom asked.

“Until the appointments later on, yes.”

“And you’re sure you still want to pay for all of that?”

“Yep.”

“Well what do you say after lunch we go to the movies?”

“Perfect. That should be just enough time before we need to get to those appointments.”

“Can’t you just give me a hint on what these appointments are?”

“Nope, they’re all part of a big surprise. You’ll love them, though. I guarantee it.”

“I just hope they aren’t too expensive.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got it all covered.”

Mom probably planned ahead of going to the movie since we only had a small pizza, which was okay as we were going to share a large popcorn and drink inside the theater. Call me gross, but part of why I loved going to the movie theater with Mom was the fact that we shared the soda. It’s the little things like this that tells some ponies how close some family members are. If you’re really weird like me, you might also get some kick out of it when you’re older.

We ended up watching an action movie about superheroes going against each other for their own ideals of justice and righteousness—from what Mom told me, she was kind of a geek back in middle school, and it was sort of cute that she still had that in her.

When the movie was done, it was time I set my plan into action. “All right, Mom, we’re at a good point to make our first appointment of the evening. The ‘Drizzle’s Super Special Preparations for the Best Night to Mother’s Day/Birthday Ever’ plan, if you will, but with a working title.”

Mom giggled as we walked. “It sounds quite big. I can’t wait to see what you have in store.”

“Now I’d like to think this first part of the evening is the most important. For the hardest working, smartest, and kindest mom, you will have a chance to receive what may be the best treatment in Equestria to help you relax as well as make you feel and look great. For the first phase of your evening, I give you …” We came to a stop in front of a building that I gestured towards like a salespony. “A deluxe treatment at Trottingham’s own Beautiful Diamond Salon!”

Mom looked up with widened eyes and jaws agape. “A d-d-deluxe … treatment at this salon?! Drizzle, I don’t—”

“Well come on, Mom, we have an appointment to attend with your name on it,” I interrupted as I held her hand and dragged her inside.

“Good afternoon, and welcome to our salon. Do you have an appointment?” a mare at the front desk greeted with a formal, but delighted tone.

“Yes, an appointment for my beautiful mom, Vanilla Sweet, the deluxe treatment with the Mother’s Day discount?” I leaned over to Mom’s ear and whispered, “I got an awesome deal reserving this spot for today.”

“Ah yes, we’ve been expecting you. Our deluxe treatment includes a manicure, hooficure, arm, leg, and facial massage, our special recipe for the avocado mask peeling, and mane styling. Will that be all right with you, miss?”

Mom was flabbergasted and was speaking in gibberish.

“I think I heard a yes,” I answered for her.

“Very well. Ladies, some assistance, please.” The attendant clapped her hands twice before a pair of salon employees took their places at Mom’s sides and held her hands.

“If you’ll come this way, please, Miss.”

“We’ll be serving you for today.” They then escorted Mom to the back while she was still stiff as a statue and speaking gibberish.

“Have fun, Mom!” I called to the departing figure of my beloved mother before turning to address the front desk clerk. “You said this will take about an hour, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Great! That’s plenty enough time to prepare. I’ll be back with the money as well.”

The attendant nodded and gave a small bow before I headed out and started my own preparations. I went directly back to our house to take a calm, relaxing shower. After that, I styled my mane with some pomade and grabbed a few large pouches that I set aside just for tonight, one of them to pay for Mom’s deluxe treatment. I then went to a shop I would take Mom to later to change into a formal suit that the owner prepared for me, one that included a purple tie. I reminded the owner I’d come back with Mom soon.

I walked back to the salon and took my sweet time while I went over my plans for the evening the umpteenth time. While the shower calmed me down, I was steadily growing nervous as the day went on. It wasn’t much at the beginning, but it wasn’t until after I left Mom at the salon that the anxiety was starting to take root. What I was mostly worried about was how she’d react once I told her my feelings by the end of the night. Even if things wouldn’t turn out the way I hoped, I still wanted her to have the best day she ever had, with the best-case scenario of us still loving each other as mother and son if she turned me down. Even then, that pinnacle could either take us to someplace unexpected or end the night on a bad note, and it was the latter that was keeping me on the tips of my hooves.

As I was approaching the salon, the one voice I didn’t want to hear again today called me.

“Drizzle! Wait!”

Fuck, seriously? What does she want this time? I turned to see Garnet again, jogging at a steady pace with an arm behind her back, probably trying to lighten the soreness that Mom brought on her earlier.

She came to a stop once she got close enough and leaned on her knees while she tried to catch her breath. After that, I was met with one of Garnet’s rarest instances: not hiding behind that smile and showing frustration instead. “Drizzle, I’ve had enough of this! It’s driving me crazy!”

Uh, shouldn’t I be the one saying that? “What do you mean?”

“I mean this whole playing hard to get bullshit! I’ve been trying so hard to get your attention since the first time I met you, and the one time I thought you gave me the one chance you didn’t give to any other filly, it was right back to freakin’ square one! Are you seriously that freaking dense to not get any of my advances?!”

I furrowed my brow. “You mean your attempts to seduce me? Garnet, how long do you think I have put up with all those fillies acting cute and getting giggly every time they’re near me? I probably wouldn’t be talking to you about this if I didn’t think they weren’t the slightest bit interested in me. I’d turn them down, but I didn’t know how to do it without hurting their feelings.”

“W-What, you … What about Senior Prom?! The few slow dances we had, even the one after we were crowned Prom King and Queen?!”

“You can blame Metal Frame for that one. He practically begged me to take you out that night.”

Garnet’s eye started to twitch a little. “And you … didn’t feel anything from any of that?!”

“Nope.”

“What about that suit you’re wearing?! Are you picking up a date?!”

“I’m preparing to take my mom out to a good dinner.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why did you not take any of those fillies’ advances? Why didn’t you take me out again?! Why—?!”

“I’m in love with somepony else!” That answer probably could have gone better, but I was starting to get sick of Garnet antagonizing me. Thankfully, that message seemed to have gotten through to her as she stood quiet for the first time in the last few minutes.

“Y-You’re … in love with somepony—”

“Yes, Garnet. There’s a mare that has caught my eye, and it’s not you, or any of those fillies you talked about from high school.”

“Who is it? I-Is it Tank Top? W-Was she bisexual this whole time? Oh Goddess, please tell me you don’t swing the other way.”

“No. Tank Top’s one of my closest friends, but she’s very much into mares as far as I’ve known her, and I’m straight as an arrow.” I set a clenched fist to my chest as I stared directly into Garnet’s eyes. “The reason why you haven’t seen me with the filly I love is because I wasn’t ready for her yet. This filly is very special and too good for me, and I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t ask her out until I became enough of a dependable, responsible stallion to even be a proper partner to her. She’s been an important part of my life, Garnet, and going through this much for her probably wouldn’t even scratch the surface to make up for all that she’s done for me.

“You’re a cute and affectionate mare, Garnet, and I’m sorry for all the trouble I may have caused you, but you aren’t the mare I love enough to put my life on the line for. I hope that you’ll understand at least this much.”

Garnet looked to the side while gripping her arm. “No … it’s fine. I should’ve seen this coming a long time ago. I may have knew it all along, my friends even tried to talk me out of it, but I was too stubborn to let it get to me. I’m sorry I’ve been a bother.”

A moment of silence passed between us before Garnet looked back to me again. “Do you know why I’ve had my eye on you for so long?”

I shrugged. “I may not have seen how interested you were of me until later, but I never knew the reason why. Same goes for all those other fillies.”

“When I first moved into Trottingham, I felt like I was never going to fit in. Getting stuck in Sombra’s curse for a thousand years really makes a pony feel like they’re behind the times once they’re free. Like they’re getting into a whole different world. I had no idea how I’d talk to a pony when I started taking classes at your school. Remember how I could barely speak when we first had chemistry together?”

I nodded. “We could barely hear you when you introduced yourself to the class, and then our teacher paired you up with me once we started lab.”

“Believe it or not, I was especially nervous of you when we worked together. I’ve heard how some of the fillies talked about you here and there before then, and the moment I was paired up with you, I was target number one on their hit list for even sitting next to you. I’ve also heard some crude remarks from a few colts about me along the way. You were different from them, though. You helped me get comfortable with my surroundings while explaining how to do the lab, even though you fumbled on some steps. You even invited me to have lunch with your friends. You weren’t anything like the other fillies said, but at the same time, so much more. You and your friends helped me become more comfortable with who I am and my new home by showing me around. I have to ask, though, why were you so nice to me?”

“Frankly, I thought having another pony in the group would be a nice change of pace. Some of the fillies who came before didn’t pay much attention to my other friends, and it was getting annoying after a bit. Since you were somepony who had never heard of me, I thought that time would be different, and it was for a while.”

“Gosh, I didn’t think I became one of them. Now I really feel like a jerk.”

“Well, you were better than those other fillies. I thought that much of you at least. Tank Top agreed, and believe me, when she says that, you were in the clear for our group.”

“I can probably see why.” Garnet looked to the side once more and rubbed her arm. “So … are we still friends? I won’t bug you into dating me again, but it was still nice being with you and your group.”

“Yeah, you’re fine. I think the others would like to have you back and hanging with us like we used to.”

“That sounds nice. Anyway, I shouldn’t keep your mom waiting. You enjoy your evening.” Garnet then gave a small smile that I could sort of see she was trying to force, but I thought I’d might as well humor her.

“Thanks, Garnet. You as well.”

She then turned and walked away while I heard a few sniffling sounds. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. She really isn’t a bad girl. She was just steered into the wrong path that I’m probably partly to blame. I hope she finds somepony that’s better than me someday. After a moment, I head on in the salon and approached the front desk. “How’s my mom doing?”

“She’s just about finished. She went to the bathroom before you came inside. You look simply dashing, by the way.”

“Thanks. Oh, here’s the money to pay for the treatment.” I set one of the pouches I brought with me on the desk before she counted them out. She nodded and gave back the appropriate change. Soon after, I heard a pair of hoofsteps approaching the counter. I turned to the source and my eyes widened at the sight.

Mom was practically glowing with her finished nails and hooves while her face was much cleaner than when we came in. Finally, not only her mane, but her tail was also straightened out with no strand of hair out of place or in the fray. She was quite a beauty.

“Mom, you look great! How do you feel?”

“Hm? Oh, I feel good, Drizzle. Doing pretty well.”

I raised a brow. “Is something a matter? You look kind of out of it.”

“I guess that treatment left me pretty tired. I feel like how I was earlier this morning.”

“Well I hope you aren’t too tired to end the day just yet. There’s still one more place we need to go before we head to the main attraction for the evening.”

“All right, well lead the way.” Mom smiled a little, but I still felt like something was off.

A couple minutes later, we arrived at the tailor’s shop where I picked up my suit. Mom was sort of quiet along the trip, occasionally checking her nails and hooves that were done. When I opened the door, a bell rang and the only stallion in the building turned to us before a smile plastered on his face.

“Ho ho! Welcome back, Mr. Drizzle. You’re looking quite sharp in that suit.”

“Thanks, Pin. I’m here with my mom just as I said. Do you think you have something for her?”

Pin glanced over to Mom and quickly skimmed her form. “Hmm, she’s more beautiful than what you showed me in her picture. Let me guess, Beautiful Diamond Salon?”

“Yep, the very same.”

“They really know how to show off a mare’s hidden beauty, don’t they? Their hooficures are also just simply marvelous. Well, Ms. Sweet, your kindhearted son has asked me to find you a dress to rent for tonight only. What do you say?”

Mom glanced around the shop and skimmed through some of the sets on mannequins for display. After a moment, she shrugged. “Sure, why not? Drizzle probably won’t let me refuse anyway.”

“Marvelous! If you’ll follow me please.”

I constantly checked the time as I waited for Mom and Pin in the lobby. Twenty minutes had passed, and thanks to my run-in with Garnet, I was a little behind schedule. The time getting closer to the moment of truth was also wracking my nerves. Finally, I heard the door opening with Pin stepping out.

“Come on, Ms. Sweet. Your son is waiting.”

“I’m not sure about this. Can Drizzle even afford something like this?”

“He said not to worry about the price, and you look marvelous. Now come out and show him.”

I stood up as the hoofsteps approached, my eyes widened as I saw the final result. Mom was in a strapless, lavender silk dress that reached just short of her hooves. The top was low-cut enough to show a decent amount of cleavage, but seem to hold up her chest comfortably save for her fixing it a little. The fabric showed off her curves quite nicely down to her hips where a flowing skirt finished her ensemble. Mom was looking to the side while her hands were behind her back, a hint of red on her face, which made her that much more appealing.

“Mom … You look amazing,” I praised as I walked up to her.

“Honestly, why go through the trouble of putting me in a dress? First the salon, then this, what’s gotten into you?”

“Well, the place where we’re going requires a dress code, so I thought we might as well go all out. Even though I’m not really used to wearing this.” I fixed my tie that was starting to tighten around my neck before straightening my other articles.

“You do look quite handsome though, Drizzle.” She turned to me and gave a smile, which had my own cheeks heated up as well.

“Th-thanks. Oh! Almost forgot. Here’s your payment for the rentals, Pin. We’ll come back to return them before closing.” I took out the second pouch to hand over to the shop owner that he graciously took.

“Oh there’s no need to rush, Mr. Drizzle. It will be a slow night tonight, so I won’t mind staying up a little past closing hours. It’s not often you see a son taking his mother out on a special date, why speed it up? You two have fun. Your clothes will still be here when you get back.”

“We will, thanks. Come on, we gotta get going before our reservation expires,” I told Mom as I held her hand and pulled her out of the shop.

“W-Whoa! Slow down, Drizzle! I’m coming.”

“ … Drizzle?”

“Yes, Mom?” I asked with a smirk.

“I’m not dreaming this, am I?”

“Here, I’ll pinch ya. Pinch!”

“Ow! Not on my cheek!” Mom rubbed the spot I pinched before looking back up. “Are we seriously eating here?”

“You mean the fanciest restaurant in the whole city? Yes, Mom, yes we are.”

The building that stood before us was a two-story structure with decorative lights just coming on as the town was getting darker. There was a wait line that extended just to the end of the restaurant’s property while the inside was quite packed with patrons for the good food, wonderful atmosphere, and fitting piano music as the main attraction. There was a large plaque at the front entrance with the restaurant’s name on it, Cles du Blanc et Noir.

“Well come on, let’s head on inside. We have a table reserved for us.” I grabbed Mom’s hand and pulled her inside while she was still staring at the restaurant in awe. We went to the front desk to check in where a stallion host was standing. “Hello, sir. We have a table reserved for Drizzle?”

The stallion skimmed through the list before he nodded. “Yes, here you are, the one with special seating. Come right this way, please.” Mom and I followed him through the restaurant with two sets of silverware wrapped in napkins in his hand while another host took his place. We were led to the outside tables where a large, open fire place was the centerpiece with more of the building’s lights decorating the railings. We were sat at a table where there was a nice view of the mountains in the distance with the sun just setting behind them while still close enough to the fire to keep ourselves warm, and we could still hear the music from inside.

The stallion set the rolled up silverware in front of us. “One of our servers will be with you shortly. Enjoy your evening.” He then bowed before he went back inside.

I smirked at the wonderful atmosphere. “Well, Mom? Is this a surprise, or …” I turned to Mom and my eyes widened to see her slightly hunched over and looking down with ears folded back. “Mom? Is something a matter? Do you not like it?”

“N-No, sweetie, it’s not that, it’s just …” She straightened herself up, sighed, and looked to the side. “I … actually overheard you and Garnet talking back at the salon. I was taking a breather outside at the back before I heard the two of you shouting. It’s been on my mind for a while now.”

My insides dropped when I heard what she said. “O-Oh, uh, how much of that did you hear, and what was bothering you?”

“I went back inside after I heard you were in love with somepony else. The things that bothered me the most was that and how you two were crowned Prom King and Queen.”

We were interrupted by a waitress bringing warm bread and butter and our menus. I requested sweet red wine when she asked if we wanted anything to drink before she nodded and walked off. Mom was still looking to the side during that exchange until she left.

“Drizzle, why didn’t you tell me anything about this? I’m not sure how I should feel right now finding this out today.”

Fuck, I didn’t think she’d hear any of that. “Well, I didn’t tell you about the Prom thing because I didn’t see it as a big deal. I wasn’t having a good time that night, and that crowning didn’t make it any better. As for me being in love, well, I didn’t want to tell you because I wanted to be sure I had some kind of chance with her before I could even say anything. I didn’t want you or anypony getting worked up over it if I somehow failed to get her later on. Besides you and Garnet, I haven’t told anypony else about this, not even my closest friends. I only told Garnet because I was getting tired of her getting on my case.”

“How did it go?”

“We calmed down and talked a little after that, and she finally got my message that I wasn’t interested in her. We settled on being friends like we were before she started hitting on me, and she promised not to come after me anymore.”

“That’s good. And for your crush?” she asked while finally looking back to me.

“Like I told Garnet, I wasn’t ready to try and get together with this filly. I’m still not sure if I’m ready even now. I’m sorry if this hurt you somehow, Mom. That wasn’t my intention hiding any of this from you.”

“I know it isn’t, Drizzle, and … if your feelings are strong towards this filly, then I support you. You’ll have to introduce me to her when you get together with her.” She made a small smile, but I couldn’t help but feel there was something else behind that.

Our waitress then came back with the wine in a bucket of ice and two glasses. She poured the red contents in our glasses before putting the bottle back in the ice. We asked for more time to decide what to order. She nodded and went back inside again before we held our glasses.

“Well, with that aside, this is certainly a surprise, Drizzle. A little overboard, but I appreciate you going through the trouble. This is turning out to be a wonderful day.”

I smirked. “Anything for you, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Birthday.” We clinked our glasses and took our first sip of the not too dry, but heavenly taste of wine. I sure hope things turn out okay after this.

Author's Note

Next chapter may be a long one with surprising twists, and then have the story come to an end with an epilogue after that. I highly recommend bringing a box of tissues or two ... For all the crying that may occur, yes, that's right. Until next time,

This is Dudeler signing off.