Everyone has a normal routine when they wake up in the morning. For some, it's the simple process. Many men go through the three S's; Shower, shave, shit! Others go different routes, but that's besides the point. Whether you wake up in a bed, or naked on the side of the street, there's always a series of events that follow with an easily identifiable pattern. And even though no one follows the same exact routine, they still have one. One that they can call their own. Such is the way for all living things, especially for the most regal of creatures.

Having just gotten up moments ago to raise the sun, Princess Celestia was going through her morning ritual to prepare herself for the day ahead. At this particular point in time, the lovely mare that could do no wrong was performing a less-than-regal task in her bathroom. It was only natural, of course. When nature calls, you can only ignore it for so long.

While performing this duty of her, she was flipping through the pages of today's newspaper. Although the news wasn't typically delivered this early in the morning, Celestia would always receive a copy around this time so she could keep up with the times and know what was going on in the world.

When nature seemed to finish running its course, Celestia reached a hoof over to grab for the toilet paper. Both confusion and surprise struck her when she found the roll to be completely empty, minus the cardboard roll the paper was usually on. She found this odd, seeing how the staff usually stayed on top of things like this.

'No matter.' She thought to herself, always keeping a few spares under the sink should something like this happen. Using her magic, she opened the cabinet beneath the sink and pulled out several more empty rolls. 'What?'

Now panic was starting to set in as she wondered what had happened to all of her toilet paper. Luckily, her answer came in the form of a sticky note clinging to one of the rolls. She raised a brow at this and pulled it close so she could make out the words.

Panic backed down for a bit while confusion grabbed the reigns of this sleigh and rode it right through downtown. She was hoping to get some sort of answer from that note, but found herself even more lost than she was previously. However, she didn't have time to dwell on this. She was already behind on her personal schedule because of this nonsense and she needed to get it taken care of.

Glancing around the bathroom, Celestia let out a defeated sigh as she spotted the paper towel dispenser beside her sink. 'Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess.'

Once again summoning her magic, now using it on the dispenser, she opened it to reveal- "What the hay!?"

Upon opening the small contraption, the towels within, as well as a more-than-generous amount of water, came pouring out onto the floor. Celestia could do no more than stare at the soaking wet paper towels on the floor, her ears splayed back as she looked over the scene. Floating just above the small puddle on her floor was another note nearly identical to the last one, minus the wording.

"Your little prank was both juvenile and in bad taste." I looked at Ebah from across the table, my eyes locking onto his as I held my stern expression. He remained seat quietly, grinning from ear to ear even as he noticed the look I was giving him. "Ebah..." I began, keeping my tone low...at least until I couldn't take it anymore and a smile found its way out of me. "I am so proud of you."

Ebah let out a snort and nearly fell into his plate of waffles as he finally let out a laugh that became easily contagious. I had to hold myself up with a hoof so I wouldn’t collapse into my own breakfast as well. Though many may not find this ideal, I couldn't help myself. It's not often I find any amount of common ground with my son. This opportunity was all too perfect.

When we finally settled down, I was the first to speak. "Next time you have a prank in mind, do not be afraid to seek me out." I offered, being more than willing to help my son with endeavors such as these. Not only is it something we can bond over, but with his help I finally have an edge over Tia. "I am happy to oblige."

Ebah paused for a few seconds, looking as though he were actually considering my offer. Call me dramatic, but I swear my heart skipped a beat when he smiled at me before answering. "You know what; I think I will."

With that, he went back to his plate, working at his meal with his hooves and making a bit of a mess in the process. Despite all that has happened since he came into my life, this moment- right here- makes it all worth it. I would graciously relive all of the nightmares this child has put me through if it meant I could come back to this. This was perfect...Minus the mess.

"Ebah..." I addressed, finding it hard not to laugh at his position; Him leaning over the plate, holding down his food with a hoof, and going to eat it from the side. "Remember what I taught you; Like it's floating." I reminded him, levitating my fork and knife from the table to make precise cuts into the waffles on my plate. "Now you try."

I watched as he removed himself from his food, his eyes darting back and forth between the two utensils beside his plate. Squinting, he lowered his head to the table, his eyes still switching off from the fork to the knife and so on. "Like it's floating..." He muttered to himself, "Like it's floating..."

Ebah's horn started to glow a bright orange, causing me to lean forward as a similar hue engulfed the silverware in front of his face. "That's it..." I encouraged him softly, observing as the items began to shake in his magical hold. "Just a little bit mor-" I shot back as the utensils caught fire and launched into the syrup bottle, shattering it into countless shards as the thick substance ran over them and put out the flames.

"Well, that was...fucked." I heard Ebah say from his spot just out of my line of sight.

Turning back to face him, I simply smiled and shrugged off the accident. "It's fine, Ebah. You didn't mean it." Clapping a my hooves together, I summoned a waiter to come forth and clean the mess. "We will just have to keep practicing until you are...Ebah?"

It's not unheard of for him to simply stop listening at the drop of a hat, but the rage in his eyes was concerning. I suppose I should be happy that he is looking elsewhere instead of at me, but I couldn't figure out what would cause him to behave in such a manner out of the blue. At least, not until I followed his gaze. "Ebah, no!"

Deaf to my words, Ebah's eyes remained locked onto a certain waiter- who was now paralyzed with fear- that had the unpleasant experience of facing my child's merciless wrath. As compensation for nearly being strangled by the colt, he was given several days off with payment. I had hoped my son's grudge would dissipate over time, but as the levitating stack of burning waffles with horns indicated, it had not.

"You..." Ebah growled, causing the waiter to finally move back a few steps, trembling as he did so.

Reaching over the table, I placed a hoof to my son's horn, cutting off his magic and making the crispy devil-food fall back to the table. "Ebah, please..." I begged, not wanting him to cause another scene. "Just let it go."

He looked at me, the anger in his eyes dying out slowly as he pulled away from my hoof and jumped out of his chair. "Fine." Making his way out of the dining room, he stopped to give the waiter one last death glare. "You're not the worth the prison sentence."

The waiter watched with bated breath as the child turned tail and left the room, Princess Luna soon following after him. He took a few deep breaths to relax himself before getting back to work. He moved casually toward the table, noting the damage that had been done. At the moment, he could grab the plates, but he'd have to come back with a rag for all the syrup.

His attention went to the nearest plate, which contained the burnt stack of waffles- with spikes coming out of it for some reason- that he was sure was going to be launched into his face. Grabbing the plate, he lifted the small stack of carnage, then immediately regretted ever doing so. No sooner than when he had lifted the plate near his face, three sets of deep red eyes opened on the stack of waffles; The section in between them opening as well to reveal a mouth filled with some sort of red goo.

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!" The dish yelled before loudly barfing a red, syrup-like substance onto the waiter's face.

Don't do it...

Stop thinking about it!

She is NOTHING to us!

"So...There's something I want to talk to you about." I said as the woman finally caught up with me, mimicking my pace. I was hoping that starting a conversation would keep the woman's attention off of me almost attacking that waiter again., but at the same time, there was something I wanted to say...well, a lot of somethings.

Keeping by my side, the woman glances down at me with a curious look in her eyes. "Of course! You can talk to me about anything."

God, she is really pushing for this whole mother-son thing. I guess I'm not gonna have much to say on it shortly. There's some shit I gotta get across, out of my system, and work through. As if it didn't suck enough already, I gotta be willing to compromise, which I'm sure I will regret later.

"Not here though." I added, not wanting to take the chance of anyone else hearing, or interfering. "Let's get to your room first. This is a private matter."

We continued the rest of the walk in silence, making our way to her bedroom where we sealed ourselves off from the rest of the world. I climbed onto her bed, going off of how talks like this usually go down in movies. Not too long after I got up and situated- laying on my stomach cause it was oddly comfortable- she was right beside me.

"Alright, my son." She said in a rather upbeat tone. "I'm all ears."

Okay, that's out of the way. Now for the hard part. "Alright..." I paused, not knowing why. I just did and took a breath to get myself going again. "The reason I'm doing this is because..." Fuck, don't choke now!

Give it up.

She isn't worth all of this.

Just focus on leaving.

Shut up!

Clearing my throat, I got back on track. "I want to...work something out with you...that..." Come on, come on! Just say it! "I've been thinking about this for a little bit now, mostly all of last night..." Why are my hooves rubbing together?

I felt a hoof on my head, stroking my hair, but not daring to go any lower. I guess she's really been paying attention lately. "Ebah, you have no need to be nervous." Is it that obvious? "What is it that's troubling you?"

I sighed, deciding it would be easier this way, though it might not help how things play out later on. "I don't know how else to say it, so I'm just gonna say it my way; My heart may have a boner for your guard."

Her hoof came to a stop, now just resting on the top of my head as she stared at me with wide eyes and what looked like panic. I'm surprised she isn't leaping out of her skin, but it's not hard to tell that's she's REALLY trying hard to keep her cool.

"My son..." She began, speaking slowly and with a whole lot of unpleasantness buried deep down in that tone of hers. "If Garnette has done something, I need you to tell me right now."

At first I was confused, what with how she said that and everything. But, it didn't take long for me to see where she thought this was going. "Wh-Woah! No! It's nothing like that!" I defended, not wanting to get the vampire in trouble over some bullshit like this. "I just meant that I may have some...fuck!"

This shouldn't be as hard as it is, but for some reason I just keep stumbling over what I'm trying to say. At least the woman seemed relaxed to know I wasn't talking about anything weird, but I'm about ready to break everything in this god-forsaken castle.

"Why is this so difficult!?" I snapped, mostly at myself. If I was paying attention I would have seen Princess Blue flinch from the sudden change in volume. "It used to be so fucking easy. I'd just walk in and be like 'Hey, ma! This is Steph! We're gonna fuck.' and that was THAT!" I pretty much gave up right there; Resigning myself to burying my face into the mattress while I wallowed in...whatever it is ponies are supposed to wallow in. "I can't believe how much I hate everything..."

The hoof that had previously been playing with my hair, moved down to my shoulder and shoved me lightly. "Ebah..." I lifted my head to face the woman. She looked confused and unsure of what to do. Aside from that, I could already feel the veins in my head pulsing from the stress. One fuck up and I will lose my shit! "Are you saying that...you have feelings for your sitter?"

Still feeling pretty defeated, I couldn't keep looking at her as I responded. "Possibly?" This was all I could come up with as I, myself, am pretty lost as well. "I've never really...FELT before. Hell, I used to make fun of people for having feelings. That being said, I'm not entirely sure what this is, but..."

She waited for me to continue, but I choked again. "But..." Her egging me on isn't helping any either!

"I would like to give it a shot." I finished, a little slower than I would have liked. But I did it...And it was horrible.

There was a nice chunk of silence between us, to which I couldn't help but spare a glance at her. Okay, so I thought she was shocked before...But now, her eyes literally look like they're gonna pop out of her skull. She shook her head, her eyes going back to where they belonged, but still she held the same expression.

Jumping off of the bed, the woman took an offensive stance in front of me. "Ebah, no!" She pretty much yelled, her features going from shocked to stern in a heartbeat. "Garnette is eighteen years your elder! This is highly inappropriate and I will not allow such a thing."

At any point during this rant, a normal child would cower in fear of their angry parental figure and immediately begin to lose hope. However, not only am I not normal; I am not afraid, I am not a child, and this bitch is NOT my mother! If there's one thing my paranoia did to affect my life in a positive manner, it would have to be forcing me to prepare for the worst possible outcome for EVERYTHING.

"I am sorry, Ebah." She went on to say, her gaze still holding its authoritative aura. "But from this day forward, I forbid you from ever-"

"I could have left by now." I interrupted, ready to begin phase two of Plan: 'You almost fucked up, Part 1'.

The woman fell silent, authority vanishing and curiosity taking over as she looked down at me. "What are you talking about?"

"I could have left by now." I repeated, the nervous shakes and shit having left once the high and mighty princess took her stand against me. "Woman, I have a confession to make." A glint of sadness crossed her face for a second once I addressed her as 'Woman', but I didn’t pay too much attention to it. "Since day one I have been looking for the perfect opportunity to get the hell out of this place without being seen. Not only have I found a number of ways to go about this successfully, but I actually DID succeed once."

It never bothered me to see my own mother cry. In fact, it made me feel better to bring that sorry bitch to tears. That in mind, seeing the water building up in the woman's eyes didn't do jack-dick for me. "B-but...But you're still here..." She said, clearly holding on to some semblance of hope that something kept me from leaving, which wasn't untrue. "If you succeeded, then how do you remain here with me?"

"Something kept me from leaving." I answered, lifting the hope was shined through her eyes...only for me to shoot it down like race-horse with a broken leg. "But, it wasn't you."

Those tears were about to begin their escape. Now that she's aware of just how numb I am to her, it's time to pull out the big guns. "Look, I know you want a son. And honestly, I think that I do need a proper maternal figure in my life." She remained silent, her emotions unsure of where to go right about now. "I cannot promise perfection, I won't even joke about it. But what I can promise you is an effort to change."

Still at a loss on what to feel right now, but leaning toward me with a glimmer of aspiration in her eyes. "Y-you mean that-"

"I will work my ass off to be the son you want." I finished for her, which did bring a small smile to her face. "Not saying that I'll change completely, it's me after all, but I can try to be better." I could see it in her posture, she's about to pounce on me. But, there's one last thing I need to get out before I die via strangulation by due to over-huggage. "On one condition..."

Once again, silence ensued, only proving to re-instill the tension that had just settled. "I want you to back off, cause I'm going after that blood-sucker with everything I've got."

It goes without saying that she was heavily conflicted on what to do. It was etched across her face like an engraving on a tombstone. I can't say that I blame her for not wanting this, as my current predicament does make this a little odd. In her eyes; I'm a mentally damaged child going after a grown ass woman. And because she won't believe a word I say about being from a different world, this is the only perspective she's got to work with.

Things should have started off smoothly. I will admit that much; When I came here, I was given the golden opportunity to start over. And if that wasn't enough, I was also royalty. Shit like this doesn't fucking happen every day. In fact, if I hadn't already thought it through a thousand times a night, I'd say I'm the first person that this has happened to.

So, like I said, things should have gone better. However, I will also admit that my stubbornness is limitless and I am conditioned to a life that isn't exactly ideal. The way I see it- after a very long night of consideration that is- I'm fucked. I am not getting out of this world and Lord knows that I can't leave the fucking castle now. My only option is to compromise and milk this heifer for all it's worth.

But, I refuse to be the only one making sacrifices. If this bitch wants to play 'Mommy And Me' with me, then she's gonna have to let some shit slide too. Hence why I am basically only leaving her with two options; Let me do me and I'll play nice, or tell me 'No' and I fuck right the hell off. At least, that's what I want her to think.

The silence dragged on for literally minutes, but it felt like a goddamn hour. Not because I felt pressured or anything like that, I was just getting really bored watching her eyes dart around and her face scrunch up in concentration. Eventually, judging from her expression, she had finally made her decision.

Taking a deep breath, puffing out her chest as she did so, she declared. "Ebah...Though I have my reservations, I think I am willing to allow this." Not gonna lie, I almost bro-fisted the air for a second there. But, I refrained, and I kept my shit together. "But-" Fuck! "I refuse to allow any inappropriate behavior. You are a child, and until you are old enough, there shall not be any lewd behavior between the two of you; Understood?"

I guess that's not too bad. I mean, I'm sure we could get away with it if we really wanted to. But then again, I don't see Garnette being a child-fucker...The one time I actually hope it's a fucking pedo and I still get fucked the wrong way. "Let's be real here; I don't think Garnette would be down for it even if I begged."

The woman let out a heavy breath, submitting to my will, and me to hers in a sense as well. "Okay then, Ebah. You have my blessings to pursue Garnette."

"YES!" Yeah, there was no containing that one. Both of my hooves ended up outstretched and I damn near slid off of the bed as a result. I managed to get my footing before slipping off of the edge, landing on all fours and making my way to the door with a newfound pep in my step. "If you'll excuse me, mother; I have a vampire to woo into submission!"

Aaaaaand, he's gone.

I all but slammed the door, summoning a pillow from the bed with my magic and burying my face into it. "WHY DID I SAY YES!?" I yelled into the plush material, my voice thankfully being muffled by its surface. Tossing it aside, I stood up on my hind legs and let myself fall back onto the bed. "What am I even doing?"

Turning on my side, I laid there wondering if I had made a mistake. My mind in shambles, these thoughts scratching at my brain like a wild animal trying to fight it's way out of a cage, I turned to the one thing I felt could help me in this moment of distress. Glancing at my dresser, I opened the top drawer with my magic and levitated one of the parenting books Twilight had given me.

Once it was in front of me, I rolled onto my back and flipped through the pages until I found the index, scanning its words with my eyes as I searched for one particular section. Eventually, I located the name of a chapter called 'Young Love'. "...I guess it's as good a place to start as any."

Flipping to the chapter, I went through what the book had to offer in hopes that it could help me through this hard time. "-stories of young love are more about strong connection in a sibling friendship way." I said, reading some of what I saw out loud. "Young love is not romantic love...attractive characteristics...relationships with family...Urg!" For a while there I thought I would be at a loss, but then I came across one particular statement that caught my attention. "You want them to feel secure and confident in their choices of friends and crushes...If you have concerns, raise them in a thoughtful and respectful way that enhances their self-esteem and helps them feel good about their choices...It is crucial not to deter them from their idea of love at a young age, otherwise you could end up hurting their image in the long run..."

I blinked a few times, setting the book aside as I stared up at the ceiling to process everything I had read. If I'm collecting the information correctly, then not only should I be respectful of his choice of love interest, but supportive as well; Lest I risk breaking down his self-esteem. In which case, that would only damage him more, making him incapable of forming such a bond with mares in the future.

I couldn't do that to my baby. He's suffered enough on his own. I refuse to be the one that causes him more damage. I sat up, determination filling me from head to hoof tips. "Then so be it!" I announced to no pony in particular. "On my crown, I will see to it that Ebah and Garnette will have a happy and fulfilling relationship!"

Although the current times find it taboo, relationships such as this were fairly common in the time before my banishment. This was hardly as outlandish as ponies made it seem these days. I'm sure with my help, everything will work out perfectly!

Normally the northern mountains was a place to feel welcomed for thestrals. It was our birthplace, where our ancestors set their roots and raised us. Granted, it was pretty much cold year-round, but that hardly ever bothered us. We're a tough race, something as simple as snow wouldn't bring us down. But this...This was a nightmare.

I stared out at the mountains my family and I called home, watching in horror as they burned right before my eyes. From base to summit and everything in between, flames coated their once beautiful bodies, consuming the landscape with no sign of letting up. At the peak of the tallest mountain, I could see it clear as day. The source of the raging inferno that threatened to incinerate the entire mountain range.

It was tall, its ash grey coat was covered in soot, it's mane and tail appearing to be made of fire itself, and a cutie mark of a burning dragon skull prominently displayed on its flank. Angling its head toward me, it's rage-filled eyes softening upon noticing my presence. For a few seconds, it seemed as though this pony was starting to calm down and as a result, the flames taking up the mountains started to dissipate. Whether it was out of shock or fear, I stepped back. Who was this and why did he seem so happy to see me. That thought came too soon, cause the moment I started moving away, the rage in his eyes returned. Turning away from me, he spread his large wings, the horn on his head lighting up as the world around him started to-

"WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!"

My eyes shot open, sitting up with enough force to almost throw the colt sitting on me off of the bed. My breathing was quick, but heavy. I was sweating like I had just run a marathon and a half. My eyes traveled all over the room, going over every little detail. I relaxed as I took in my environment, letting myself fall back into my bed as I ignored the...rather annoyed sounding groans of my fellow guards?

Whatever, I was way too tired to deal with their shit. With little reserve, I turned on my side and- "Dammit, Senpai!" was pushed off of my bed, which resulted in me landing on the cold floor. "Notice me!!!" I was about to get up and chew out that little prick for pulling this crap on me. My sleep schedule was already fucked because of him and now he's gonna go and do something like this?

I didn't get the chance to even get my hooves beneath me when I found Ebah's ash grey muzzle nearly pressed into my own, his eyes locked onto mine as he looked me over. "Oh, good! You're up!"

Not even bothering to hide the venom in my words, I glared up at him, ready to throw him against the nearest wall with the force of a dozen Minotaurs. "You have five seconds to give me one good reason why I shouldn't beat you with my bare hooves..."

"Cause your princess would slaughter you without even blinking." He replied without skipping a beat. Sometimes this whole arrangement he has with Princess Luna is just plain unfair. "Rude awakenings aside; Are you fuckin' alright?" I blinked a few times as he ran one of his small hooves across my forehead, inspecting the now wet appendage. "You were acting all sorts of messed up when I got here."

I let out a sigh, trapped between being annoyed with him and somewhat thankful for not having to see any more of that weird dream. "I'm fine. It was just a nightmare is all."

Much to my surprise, I saw something in Ebah's eyes that I never thought he was even capable of feeling. It was sympathy. He actually looked genuinely bothered by this. He gently placed his hoof down just below my neck, rubbing me softly. "You wanna talk about it?"

I thought back to the dream, remembering more detail than I normally did, minus a few little things that seemed to escape me. "I think I would rather not." I confessed, not wanting to relive whatever that was. Despite that though, I felt oddly comfortable right now. Ebah's hoof felt really nice~

My eyes widened a bit as I realized what was happening right now. Shoving Ebah off of me, I sat up, catching some odd looks from the few guards that were awake and had seen what happened. I tried so hard to keep from blushing, but I could already feel it taking over my features.

Frustration started to take its grip on me as I turned to face the colt responsible for this mess. "You gonna tell me why you woke me up at this hour?"

I could tell that he was picking up on the vibes in the room. On top of that, I knew the next words out of his mouth were going to be a lie. Not to say that he isn't a very convincing liar, but after dealing with him for this long, I was starting to pick up on things like this. "Right, I almost forgot." He said, smacking his forehead with a hoof. "The princess wants to see you. Don't know why, but she said it was important."

Climbing back to his hooves, he turned away from me and made his way to the exit. "Go shower up real quick. I'll be waiting outside the barracks to take you to her."

"Alright, I'll be right out." I said, getting back on my own hooves before making my bed and heading for the showers. I got a few more odd looks from some of the guards, but ignored them as I trotted to the showers and cleaned myself up.

Once I was free of my sleep induced sweat-show, I slipped on my armor and exited the barracks. Just as he said he would be, Ebah was waiting right by the door for me. Once I reached him, he started walking. I followed close behind him, recognizing the route we were going down. We were headed toward the castle garden. I had shown Ebah this place a while back and we would occasionally walk through it when we were bored. The scenery was nice and all, but I think Ebah enjoys it for the seclusion. Most ponies don't go through it, on account of it technically being private, so it was a nice little escape from the rest of the world.

We walked into this little slice of heaven, both of us flinching from the still-present sun. Despite it's blinding rays, we powered through and I followed him to the center of the garden. He took a seat on a nearby bench, patting the spot next to him as an invitation for me to join.

I smiled and removed my helmet, placing it to the side as I hopped up and sat down beside him. Things were quiet at first, but I was simply too curious just to let this slide. "Why did you really wake me up?" I asked, capturing his attention rather quickly. "You can't tell me it was just so we could hangout in the garden again."

"Actually, I could, I'd just be lying." Ebah pointed out, earning himself a punch in the arm from me for being a smartass. He just laughed and turned his attention elsewhere, like he was having a hard time looking at me.

Normally I can deal with his weird behavior, but this was new. I felt one of my brows raise at him, not that he could see it right now. "Ebah, is everything alright?"

"Honestly..." He began, even sounding like something was bothering him. "I'm not entirely sure."

It wasn't that I didn't want to comfort him, but I found it weird how my hoof seemed to move on its own, placing itself on the edge of his shoulder. "Hey, if something's wrong you can tell me."

Ebah finally turned to face me, his eyes still looking so much older than he was. But now there was something else in them. A sort of conflict, like he didn't know what to do. He opened his mouth, then closed it. Taking a breath, he collected himself and began. "I finally got my opportunity...I had the chance to get away from this place and I took it."

Okay, now I'm really confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I...did a thing...I did it during my walk with the woman yesterday." He explained cryptically, "It gave me the chance I needed to get away from her and this place."

For reasons I don't quite understand, I started to feel a little upset. I removed my hoof from his shoulder, returning it to its former place beside the other. Was it that easy for him? Was leaving so simple that he could pull it off with virtually no problem whatsoever? Could he really just abandon Luna and I like that?

"Why did you come back then?" I asked, taken back by the anger in my own voice...Why is this bothering me so much? There was a pause, one of which only proved to fuel my anger. That is, until he finally answered me.

"You..."

I felt my heart skip a beat upon hearing this, my eyes going wide as a strange fluttering started to fill my chest...What the fuck is happening? What's wrong with me!? "M-me?"

Ebah nodded, "The opportunity was right there, staring me in the face...And I took it." He elaborated, again not daring to look in my direction. "But, before I could truly seize it, thoughts of everything that could go wrong started to hit me. At first I was like, 'Fuck it, I've been through worse, this isn't shit'."

"Then I thought about you and..." Ebah paused for a second, then shrugged. "I just couldn't fuckin' do it." He raised a hoof, rubbing it across his head. I didn't notice it before, but he looks really tired. "I was up all night trying to figure it out and I came to a rather...unlikely conclusion. But, it's the only one that makes any sense."

I leaned in slightly, curious about what he was going to say. "What is it?"

A grin spread across his face as he shot me a look that almost made him look like his normal self again. "You wanna go on a date?"

"What!?" That caught me WAY off guard. I flinched pretty hard at his words, causing me to fall off of the bench. I quickly- and sloppily- got back to my hooves and stared at him in shock. "E-Ebah, that's...that's a little...I-I uh..."

Okay, now this is starting to get on my nerves. It feels like my heart is trying to beat through my chest. I'm so nervous and shaky. Why am I acting like this?

My mind jumped to the only thing it could think of. "W-What would Luna say?" I asked, panic starting to set in. "She would kill me, Ebah! KILL! ME!"

Ebah looked like he was doing his best not to laugh at me. It didn't make the situation worse, but it didn't help either. "Believe it or not, I actually got her blessing to go through with this."

I think my brain just crashed. "...What?"

"Yeah, it uh..." Again, Ebah had a somewhat defeated look about him. Hopping off of the bench, he took a few steps toward my trembling form. "It didn't come without sacrifice, but I figured that it was a worthy one."

"Sacrifice?"

Ebah nodded again, "I have officially resigned myself to remaining here...forever, I guess. On top of that, I promised to try and be a better son to the woman."

"B-but...Why?" This was more me asking myself why it was so hard to talk right now, but Ebah took it as something else.

Ebah growled a little bit. Not out of anger, more like he was annoyed since he was having a hard time explaining himself. "Look, I'm new to this whole 'feeling' thing, so I can't really say much about it." He explained with a wave of his hoof. "But, if this feeling is what I think it is, I just want the opportunity to give it a shot before I wind up hating myself for not even trying."

I was at a loss for words. This kid, this mentally unstable kid; The kid who wanted nothing more than to escape this place and get as far away as possible, just gave up trying to leave for me. First he had to be so fun to be around, then he went and defended me from my piece of shit ex, and now he drops all of his plans to escape so he can be with me...

It almost sickens me to admit this; But I can feel my heart fluttering in my chest. No stallion has so much as paid half of my bill for dinner. But, here's fucking Ebah going above and beyond, then ditching all of his ambitions, simply because he wants a chance.

"Well...I guess if the princess is alright with it." I began, doing my best not to trip over my own words as I looked at this colt and tried not to think of him as a colt. "And, if you're really sure then..." Wow, this is a lot more difficult than when Thick Armor asked me to be his marefriend. "S-Sure...Yeah, why not?" Oh my Luna! What am I doing!? "When were you thinking?"

Ebah looked like he was ready to leap out of his skin, but kept his cool. It was honestly, really adorable. "I was thinking tonight around eight. Sound good to you?"

"Y-yeah! That's perfect!" I said in a tone that was far more shaken than I would have liked. "Sounds like a date!" Oh sweet Faust, I'm going on a date with a nine year old!

My breathing was heavy as I watched that little brat ask out Garnette. "That son of a whorse!" I whisper yelled to myself. "First you humiliate me, then you get in my way, humiliate me again, and now you're trying to steal my mare!" I could feel my eye twitching as I stepped back, going deeper into the brush so that no pony would see me. "Like hell you are..."

Author's Notes:

Guess who's back!
Yeah, I was gone for a hot minute there, but I'm back!
To those who are curious; The funeral went well, everyone was pretty beat up, but afterward we got ourselves together. Granted, we all kinda receded for a bit, but everyone- myself included- is starting to get back to their old selves. So, in celebration of my return, I give you the next chapter of Son Of A Moon!
I would also like to remind everyone about my Discord server! It's a wonderful, fucked up place where you can talk to fellow fans of my (god awful) stories and possibly damn yourself by talking to me personally! The link will be below :P
https://discord.gg/WbMXxv5
And, as per-usual; If you're enjoying this story, slap that LIKE button like a bitch! Feel free to share with your friends and leave comments below! Comments make me feel special :P