Raising Rainbow

by Pizzema Forte

33. Once in a Blue Moon, Part Three: Call Me Crazy

"Open." the stallion commanded in a soft tone. He held the clear, plastic bottle up to his foal's mouth, who reluctantly turned his head away, not wanting any part of the delicious meal.

"Blue Moon. Open." he commanded once more, putting the bottle closer and closer to the colt's mouth. Blue whined a bit and turned away, shaming the bottle of fresh, warm milk.

"Listen, Son, it's nine in the morning. Your mother wants you good and fed by now, and I didn't spend three minutes warming your meal and enduring the nasty smells of your mother's milk in the air just so you could be disobedient. Now, open up."

The stallion drew the bottle away from the little foal, only to bring it back in. This time, the foal didn't turn away; he simply backed his head away as far as he possibly could, trying hard to avoid his brunch. With anger brewing within him, the stallion set down the bottle and frowned.

"You cried because you were hungry, I make you food, then you completely turn it away. What in Equestria can I do to make you satisfied?"

It was then, the foal opened his mouth and let out a long wail. Taking the opportunity, the stallion quickly placed the bottle tip into Blue Moon's mouth so his lips were forced to close around it. Almost in an instant, his blue eyes went wide and he started to suckle. He smiled a bit, and his eyelids fell in the sweet, milky bliss that reminded him of his mother.

"See? That's not so bad, is it?"

The stallion felt himself push harder on the bottle, forcing it deeper in his son's mouth out of anger. Of course, Blue whined and uncomfortably tried to move his head. Moonstruck caught his mistake and lightened his force, which made it easier on the little foal. The one-week old gently suckled the bottle again, now starting to gain an appetite. He smiled, moaning cutely a bit as he sucked up his meal. The stallion took the bottle away to allow his son to breath. When he went to put the bottle back in, the foal smiled and clamped his lips shut, denying entrance.

"Oh, you can't be serious," the stallion muttered under his breath. He angrily slammed the bottle down against the wooden counter and scolded his son. "You know what? You can just starve yourself if you're going to be immature about it! See if I care!"

Blue Moon gurgled and flailed his front hooves, begging to be picked up and played with instead of fed, not really caring about his dad's anger. Moonstruck gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes. Before he could get to caught up in his anger, however, his ears perked up and he looked away. In realization, his eyes widened and he looked at the foal.

"I'll be right back!" he growled. "And don't you dare think of moving an inch!"

The foal smiled, which only irritated his father further. Angrily, the pegasus made his way from the oddly-scented kitchen to the area that lead to his front door. Before he could reach it, however, he heard three knocks to the wooden surface.

"I'm coming!" The stallion growled in an irritated tone. He made his way over to the door and slid the only chain undone. He opened the door with great haste, only to be confronted by his brother. He, much unlike Moonstruck, was wearing a smile on his face and had excitement glistening in his eyes.

"Well, don't you look excited?" the elder brother started in a very unenthusiastic tone. The comment instantly turned Rainbolt's smile upside down.

"Sorry for being happy and stuff..." the periwinkle stallion apologized. "I'm just kind of excited to be around a foal again. I mean, I remember Dashie as a little foal and I-"

"Yes, whatever. Come inside," the stallion interrupted with little consideration.

Rainbolt shut himself up and blushed a bit before hesitantly stepping inside the house. Moonstruck gently kicked his front door. It clicked shut with a small bang.

"So, uhh..." the younger sibling started with hesitation. "Hard morning, I take it?"

"Well, the damn thing won't eat its food, it doesn't shut up, it acts so innocent, and it just...." The stallion took in a breath and let out an irritated grunt. "It has no way of proper communication so I don't know what it wants ever!"

"Well, I mean..." Rainbolt rolled his tongue around his mouth, searching for the right thing to see. "How long have you had him?"

"I don't know, a couple hours or something."

"And what've you been doing this whole time?"

"Keeping the damn thing entertained while trying to not to kill it."

Rainbolt forced a smile towards his brother.

"Well, that's a good start, I guess." Moonstruck gestured his brother towards the kitchen and started making his way towards it. The stallion followed with no second thoughtd. "And what's goin' on right now?"

"I'm making an attempt to feed it so it doesn't die, but he's being a little brat about it."

"Probably not hungry."

"Oh, well thank you sincerely for that deep epiphany. Anything else you'd like to add?"

"Sorry..." the stallion apologized quietly. "Why not entertain him until he's hungry again? Maybe playing with him will tire him out. Or maybe he just doesn't like you."

"Thanks for the reassurance."

Rainbolt frowned.

"Why don't you let me give it a try? I mean, foal's tend to like me, and he's seen me more and stuff."

"Oh, be my guest. I doubt you can get the little brat to eat, though..."

The stallion looked at the foal as they stepped hoof onto the honey-colored tile floor. He was drooling carelessly in his high-chair, letting out soft gurgles with a smile on his face.

"Brat's sort of a harsh word for an infant..." the stallion said in defense of the little foal.

"Whatever. Just feed him."

Rainbolt nodded and made his way over to the little high chair the foal was sitting at. It was yellow, and had been previously owned by Rainbow. It was much bigger than what was comfortable for a foal his size, but Blue Moon didn't seem to mind. One thing, however. was a bit off...

"You didn't strap him in..."

"And? It's not like he's just going to fall out or something."

"He could!" Rainbolt took the little, black straps of the foal's chair and strapped them up and above his shoulders, only to click them to the opposite ends of the high-chair. He took the opposite side of the strap and put it over Blue Moon's opposite shoulder. He giggled happily before the stallion gently connected the two straps to a buckle in the center of his lap.

"See?" Rainbolt asked in a semi-cocky tone. "Now he won't fall out and break a limb or something."

"Yeah... I'm sure you just saved his life."

"Never know." The stallion tossed his brother a smile. "So, the little guy won't eat?"

"Nope."

"Alrighty. Let's just see." Rainbolt wrapped his hoof around the plastic bottle of milk and lifted up to the foal's eye-level. He leaned it in, hoping to gain entrance. Unfortunately, the foal simply turned away. "Come on, little guy." The stallion coaxed in a babyish tone, increasing the pitch of his voice by an octave. The sudden shift in pitch caused Moonstruck to wince and make a face. "You need milkies to grow up big and strong like me and your daddy." The stallion blushed a bit as he gently tickled the foal's side with his free hoof. He giggled happily. Taking the chance, Rainbolt placed the tip of the bottle gently to the foal's lips. Blue Moon instantly turned, denying the bottle entrance once more. Rainbolt set the bottle down and shrugged.

"He's not hungry." He concluded, setting his voice at its regular pitch.

"No shit, Fetlock."

The stallion raised an eyebrow.

"Then why are you trying to force feed him?"

"Well, I mean... I thought you said you'd get him to eat!"

"Well, I got his mouth opened. If he's seriously denying milk, he's probably too full to take it." He tossed his brother a reassuring smile. "Just wait an hour or so and see how he feels. Okay?"

"Fine..." Moonstruck mumbled inaudibly.

"Good!" the stallion turned to the foal and started unbuckling him from his seat. Blue Moon smiled as he did so, lifting his hoofs up in hopes of being picked up and cuddled. His mom always made time to cuddle him, so he was a bit confused on why he hadn't been snuggled once since he arrived at the mysterious pony's house.

Rainbolt gently placed his hooves underneath the foal's arms and hiked him up, putting him onto his chest so he could rest comfortably on his shoulder.

"So, you've tried feeding him and playing with him so far?"

"Yes."

"Well... Hmm, it's still early, so he probably still wants attention."

"Ugh..." The new father muttered. "How much attention does the damn thing need in a day?"

"Can you stop calling him that? You're going to hurt his feelings."

"Ugh, whatever. Just, put him back in his crib or whatever."

"What? No. He still needs attention. Isn't that right, buddy?" Rainbolt lovingly patted the colt's back, who gurgled in response. "See? Besides, I bet you don't know the basics of how to play with a foal."

"What do you mean 'basics'? It's not that complicated."

"Well, it's not, but..." The stallion bit his lip, searching for the right thing to say. It's not that he didn't trust his brother's style of parenting, but he couldn't honestly imagine him being too excited to sink down to a foalish level. "How exactly do you play with Blue Moon?"

"I don't know. I suppose I simply talk to him and stroke his mane and such. There's really not much I can do."

Rainbolt smiled at his brother, now realizing how uneducated he was when it came to parenting. He may not have been the biggest fan of Moonstruck, but he did admire his intelligence when growing up. Having the opportunity to finally teach his brother something meant a lot to Rainbolt. Even if it was something he considered common knowledge.

"Oh, trust me. There is so much more you can do with a foal than just talking to it." Rainbolt thought for a moment. "Also, if you do talk to him, you should do it in a cute kind of way."

Moonstruck made a semi-disgusted face. He would never reduce himself to such a juvenile way of speaking. Even if it was for the pleasure of his son.

"'Cute kind of way'? Rainbolt, listen; I'm nothing like you. I'm not some cutesy-wootesy parent that's going to be best buddies with their offspring! I'm going to give it food, bathe it, and anything it may need to survive. I am not, however, going to bond with it by means of giving up my pride for its comfort."

"Pride? Moonstruck, when you become a parent, the only thing you should have pride in is your children." He frowned a bit. "I know you're new to everything, and you may not feel that emotionally connected to the foal yet, but once you start to like him, it's like you never want to let 'em grow."

"Rainbolt, I-" Moonstruck started in an angry tone, before stopping himself. The stallion took in a breath and restrained himself from saying anything rude too hastily. He did want assistance with the foal, and getting upset with the one stallion willing to give him help wasn't an intelligent decision. Letting out a long exhale, the pegasus continued in a calmer tone. "Listen, I love the foal, I really do... It just seems rather... weird for a stallion like myself to do it."

"Weird?"

"Yes, weird. I just... I can't see myself easily talking to him in an immature fashion. It just... You get where I'm coming from, right?"

Rainbolt thought for a moment. To think of it, Moonstruck hardly showed any strong emotions aside from anger and frustration. The thought of him putting on a playful or loving act was an odd vision.

"Yeah, I guess..." The stallion finally agreed. "But you could at least try."

"I... Rainbolt, I don't..." The older brother frowned. He just couldn't argue his way out of that one. "I suppose I could give it a try."

"That's the spirit!" Rainbolt chimed with a smile. His grin, however, quickly faded when he saw the narrowing eyes of his brother. He blushed a bit, knowing his sibling didn't like being talked to as a child. "Sorry..." he apologized.

"It's fine. Just... Do whatever it was you were going to."

The younger sibling smiled and thanked the stallion with his expression, who simply nodded in response. Rainbolt turned and headed to his brother's living room. It wasn't far from the kitchen at all, and only took several steps to meet the next room. The problem the stallion carrying the gurgling foal instantly noticed was the flooring of the living room.

"Your living room is wood..."

"Thanks for notifying me." Moonstruck said in a sarcasm-drowned tone. "Anything else you'd like to inform me of while you're at it?"

"Well, no, but I'm not going to set the foal on hard wood."

"I have a carpet."

Rainbolt paused for a moment, glancing at the carpet sprawled out in the middle of the floor. He sighed and looked back at his brother.

"That still seems really uncomfortable for the little guy."

"Oh, boo hoo. Seriously, how heavily do you want me to pamper him?"

"Just..." Rainbolt glanced around for a softer-looking place to set Blue Moon. "Can I put him on your couch?"

"I suppose..." the stallion agreed hesitantly.

"Great!"

With that said, Rainbolt made his way over to the medium sized couch. He gently set the squirming colt onto the soft, blue surface of the sofa. He squirmed a bit at first, trying to feel the details of his new setting. The stallion smiled at the foal, who giggled happily and sprawled his hooves out towards the bigger pony.

"He's such a cutie..." Rainbolt muttered before turning around and looking at his brother. Moonstruck was still at the door frame of the kitchen. His eyes were widened for some reason and his expression was dull and lifeless.

"You okay...?" the younger pony asked in concerned. The paralyzed pony's eyes darted from the ground to his sibling. He blinked a few times before returning to reality.

"Yes, of course. I was just wandering somewhere. Sorry."

Rainbolt raised his eyebrow at the way he said "wandering", but quickly shrugged the odd term off and went back to giving the foal attention.

"Come here for a moment."

Moonstruck, although hesitant at first, did comply and head over to the couch. He looked down at his son, who was reaching up skyward in the most adorable manner possible. While one stallion let out a long, "Awe...", the other hid his behind forced, unenthusiastic expression.

"So... Have you played with him at all? Well, you know, beyond what you consider playing?" Rainbolt asked.

"Not exactly."

"Well, you should try."

With that said, Rainbolt smiled at his older sibling, who awkwardly gazed back. Moonstruck knew what his brother was expecting, but didn't entirely feel comfortable going through with it. Awkwardly, the older pony lowered his hoof onto the foal. Like last time, the foal reached for the giant hoof and gently suckled on the edge of it, gurgling with joy. The stallion blushed and looked away, hoping that was the most affection he'd have to give to his son.

"That's a good start... Now, why don't you try doing something a bit more?"

"Oh, so letting it slobber all over me isn't enough?" Angrily, Moonstruck removed his saliva-coated hoof from the foal's mouth.

"No..." Rainbolt frowned and looked at Blue Moon. He then smiled, as an idea popped into his mind. "Oh, wait! Wait! You wanna see something foals love?"

With a frown, Moonstruck rolled his eyes.

"I suppose..." He mumbled unenthusiastically.

With that, the younger brother lowered his head near the foal and pressed his lips to the soft, baby belly. At first, Blue Moon struggled, unsure what to think. Then, he found himself laughing aloud as his uncle blew raspberries onto his little stomach. He started to squirm violently, but the tickling didn't stop. His shrill shrieks forced his dad to cover his ears. After a moment of sustained belly blowing, Rainbolt lifted his head and smiled.

"See? He loved it."

Hesitantly, Moonstruck lowered his hooves from his ears. The foal's laughs had reduced to mere giggles and his squirming had ceased almost completely.

"I didn't..."

"You could try," Rainbolt suggested calmly. "Unless you have some other way of playing with him?"

"Ugh. I thought I already showed you my method..."

Rainbolt found himself chuckling at his brother. Yes, he knew he must have been going through quite a bit of struggles accepting his new fate, but his reluctant attitude and new circumstances made the whole thing a bit funnier.

"Don't laugh!" Moonstruck snapped. His sibling fell silent and shrunk back from the crack of the voice. A little part of the white pegasus felt bad for intimidating Rainbolt, while the other half stuck with the anger he originally displayed.

"Sorry, I-"

"It's fine. Just... I suppose I was being a bit irritable... I'm just sort of stressed, is all."

"No, it's good."

"Alright." The stallion glanced away and shuffled his hooves into the wooden floor. So far, he hadn't been getting along with his brother too well. He had planned to get on Rainbolt's good side. Why did it seem so difficult? He wanted to get along, but with their pasts in consideration, it was hard. Moonstruck had to admit, though, his sibling was trying, and if he wanted to stay on his good side, he'd have to step outside of his comfort zone a bit. "Just... Could you possibly teach me to do that thing with your mouth?" he asked, glancing away as scarlet filled his cheeks.

"Oh, that's simple..." The stallion's voice had been a bit more quiet this time. "Just open your mouth, press it to his belly, and blow."

"I knew that," the pegasus growled.

"But, you..." The stallion cut himself off, deciding it would be better to simply shut up.

"Yes, whatever."

Moonstruck avoided eye-contact with his brother as he looked at his son. He was silent at the moment. To go through with it would cause him another headache and lost in pride. If he were to go through with it, he could have possibly earned more of his brother's trust and support. Hesitantly, he shifted himself to a different angle and knelt down. His muzzle gently brushed against his son's side. Already, he was giggling. His hooves reached towards the sky, hoping to give his father more room to tickle. Reluctantly, the stallion gently pressed his lips against the foal's side. Blue Moon already started to squirm, before the stallion even blew. When he did, however, his body flailed and his cries of joy filled the room. Moonstruck blushed, and only blew raspberries for a few brief moments. He quickly broke away from the affection, and looked down at his squirming foal. His expression was nothing but pure joy and excitement. His grin was so innocent and adorable, the stallion felt his heart warm a bit.

Oh, come on, Moonstruck! You seriously can't be giving into him that. You have far more strength than that... Then, again.... The pegasus worriedly looked at his foal.

"He is adorable..."

"He really is. Good job."

Really? Good job? You may as well compliment me for something as effortless as breathing! Bucking... Ugh! Am I supposed to feel pride from that? Can you just-

"Shut it!" The stallion snapped. Rainbolt at first flinched at the sudden surge of anger. He couldn't say he didn't expect to be lashed at once and a while for minor things, but simply complimenting him wasn't one. The stallion mumbled an apology. He did defend himself as he did when he was a younger colt, but like then, it was nearly at a whisper.

"There's no reason to be mean..."

"Yeah, whatever. If you could stop congratulate me on surviving, that'd be fantastic."

"Okay... Sorry."

"It's fine. Just..." Moonstruck searched his mind for a different topic. "What more do you want me to do?"

"I don't know... We could try interacting with him a bit more. Like, get to know him a bit."

"Because an infant has a wide variety of interests and personality traits..."

"Hey, you never know." Rainbolt smiled and placed himself on the edge of the couch right next to the foal. The cushion sank, causing the little colt to slide closer to his uncle. "The personality develops within the first six weeks. Just depends on how you influence him."

Wonderful.

With no words, Moonstruck took a seat on the couch, too. He chose to sit next to Blue Moon, as well, but on the opposite side. The little foal slid towards his father from the new slant. His head bumped the stallion's leg, which only caused him to giggle louder. Both fathers couldn't help but smile as Bluey reached for his daddy. Moonstruck gently pressed his hoof to the foal's chest, causing him to gurgle. He then made an attempt to suckle on his father's hoof. That, however, didn't become a reality. Moonstruck removed his hoof from Blue Moon's chest, leaving him bewildered and unsatisfied. He simply laid there, gazing up at his dad silently. After a short moment, the colt started glancing around every which direction, silently observing the room. The two stallions looked at each other. One was smiling, while the other seemed a bit confused.

"He's not doing anything..." Moonstruck muttered after a brief moment of silence.

"What'd you expect?"

"I don't know... He's been so noisy the entirety of this morning."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Ummm...." Rainbolt took a moment to think. He was having a little trouble recalling what he used to do to entertain Dashie as a young foal. As young as Blue Moon was, he didn't know how safe it'd be to be too aggressively loving. Kisses, blowing raspberries, and cuddling all seemed like safe options. However, bouncing him up and down on his knee, throwing him up and catching him, along with other things could have freaked the poor nine-day old foal out a bit. "Ummm.... I don't know...." He took in a breath. "Try playing peek-a-boo or something."

"Ugh, no."

"Oh come on, it's not hard! You don't even have to use your baby-voice or anything."

Moonstruck folded his hooves reluctantly. Rainbolt smiled, and tried to encourage his brother by giving a demonstration.

"Blue Moon.... Buddy." The cooing of his uncle caused the little foal to give Rainbolt his attention. The stallion smiled and placed his hooves over his eyes. "Where'd I go?" he asked, in a very childish manner. Blue Moon looked up at the stallion, while Moostruck tossed him an equally bewildered expression. "Here I am!" He chimed with enthusiasm, uncovering his face and smiling. Almost instantly, the foal seemed to be taken back in shock, and then did nothing but stare, not really sure of what to think.

"Well, aren't you just the entertainer?"

"It used to make Dashie giggle..." the disappointed stallion muttered under his breath.

"Well, maybe my foal has higher expectations for life!"

Rainbolt frowned and sighed. In a sense, he was starting to get a bit irritated with his brother. He knew him to be rude, and he was sure the stress of parenthood was getting to his head, but he didn't appreciate the lack of respect he showed. He did, after all, take time out of his day to help him. The stallion, however, thought it'd be better to simply not say anything.

"Yeah, yeah...." The pegasus tossed his brother a forced smile. "So... Do you want to try to get him to sleep again?"

"I don't know... He doesn't seem too worn-out yet. He's only been up but a few hours."

"Well, I mean..." Rainbolt thought for a moment. "Maybe.... Maybe we could try to feed him again?"

"Because that worked so well the first time."

"Well, it's been a little while. The little guy could be getting hungry again."

"Fine. Go get the bottle."

"Why me?" Rainbolt asked, hardly thinking about the question itself. His lack of thought ended up earning him a piercing gaze from his brother.

"You came up with the idea!" he snapped.

"It's your foal."

"He's your nephew!"

Rainbolt took in a breath and exhaled unenthusiastically. Reluctantly, he rose from the couch and headed towards the kitchen. If Moonstruck was going to be that stubborn, chances are he'd end up doing it anyway. Besides, what point would there be in continuing an argument if there was an easy way to resolve it?

Making his way into the tiled kitchen, Rainbolt glanced around the area. There wasn't a lot within the room. Aside from a few odd and end dishes on the countertops, there wasn't too much to be seen. The desired item, however, was located where Moonstruck left it; on the table, near Blue's high chair. It was still eighty percent filled with Mrs. Skies' sweet milk. Rainbolt grabbed the bottle and took a moment to examine it. The liquid was still warm, and Blue Moon's saliva was still glistening on the nipple of the bottle. He wondered if Moonstruck had been at fault for the foal's lack of eating. If the milk were only lukewarm when he fed Blue Moon, the bottle wouldn't have been as hot as it was then. Shrugging it off, Rainbolt made his way back into the living room. His brother was in a bit of a haze, staring at his son with little interest. His purple eyes almost seemed sad. The stallion wasn't going to ask what he was thinking, but did want to announce his presence.

"Hey," Rainbolt started in a soft tone. His brother looked up. His reply was a short nod of his head and a gesture take a seat. The stallion complied with no words, sitting next to the cute foal and his father. Blue Moon gurgled as his uncle sat down, which brought a smile to both adult's faces.

"Sit him up."

"Why?"

"It'll make it easier for him to drink..."

"Ugh..." As gently as Moonstruck could manage, he grabbed his son by the torso and set him upward. He placed his back to the couch, forcing him to sit. Blue Moon didn't seem to mind, though. He just sat there and waited for kismet to work itself. Slowly, Rainbolt leveled the bottle to the foal's eyes. The happy foal smiled and puckered out his lips. Carefully, the stallion moved the bottle towards the newborn, only to have him hungrily wrap his lips around the tip and suckle. Rainbolt smiled in success.

"Good boy," he complimented in a soft tone.

Quietly, Moonstruck watched as his sibling fed his son. His hoof was gently leveled, hardly using any grip. He let the bottle fall from the foal's mouth every once in a while, letting him take in a breath when he pleased. Blue Moon seemed pretty happy with the way he was being fed. His eyes were sparkling and his mouth found its way into a smile.

Gosh, it looks so simple. Why couldn't I get him to eat that easily? Moonstruck thought for a moment. For the first time, he considered the possibility his approach was too aggressive. Maybe if he was more fatherly and gentle, his foal wouldn't be so hesitant to eat. It couldn't hurt to try...

"Rainbolt?"

"Yeah?" The stallion looked up and met eyes with his sibling. Swallowing his pride, the white pegasus bit his lip and spoke up.

"Could I possibly have I go at it?"

"Oh, sure!" Rainbolt removed the half-full bottle from the hungry foal's mouth and handed it over to his sibling. The new parent took it into his hooves and slowly leveled it to his son's face. At first, Bluey seemed a bit confused, but was still hungry nonetheless. He went in for the nipple of the bottle and began sucking again. As Moonstruck softened his grip, he felt the bottle bob up and down. After a few seconds, Blue Moon opened his mouth to breath, which naturally caused the bottle to slide out a bit. The stallion had to push it back in a bit to have the bottle be comfortable in his foal's mouth.

This is far easier than I thought it would be... Celestia, I have a lot to learn about parenting. I'm not sure how easy it will be to bring out my ultra soft side, though...

After a few moments of gentle feeding, Blue Moon whined in upset manner. Moonstruck removed the bottle from his mouth. It was nearly empty.

"I don't think he's hungry anymore."

"It must have taken all your wits to figure that one out," the stallion sarcastically muttered under his breath. Although Rainbolt didn't quite catch what his brother said, he simply assumed the worst and didn't question it. Both of their minds, however, quickly drew away from the stallion's snarky remark. Their attention quickly landed on Blue Moon, who started making a series of awkward faces and noises.

"What's he doing?"

Rainbolt smiled at the foal and gently wrapped his hooves around his torso. The stallion brought him into his chest as carefully as he could.

"Pay attention, Moonstruck," he requested in a soft tone.

Usually, Moonstruck would be angered by being talked down to or asked favors, but he was starting to accept the fact he really did need to shut up and listen at times. At that moment, he was trying to practice said skill; gazing as his brother hugged his child. Softly, the periwinkle pegasus patted his nephew's back. The foal struggled for a moment, straining to make his insides comfortable. After a short moment, however, Blue Moon let out a quiet burp, then giggled. Rainbolt whispered "good colt" in his ear and carefully placed him back in his original position.

"What'd you do?"

"Burped him," Rainbolt replied. "Did you see how gently I did it?" Dumbly, the inexperienced parent nodded."That's how softly you have to do it." Again, Moonstruck nodded, yet didn't speak. "Would you like to try next time?" For a long moment, the stallion was silent once more.

"I.... I suppose so," he finally replied, internally questioning if he could do it soft enough.

"Good!" Rainbolt tossed his brother a smile. "Because you have a lot more to learn where that came from..."

Blue Moon gurgled as he reached towards his father. His small, white hooves were desperate to latch onto the pony who was carefully setting him onto the kitchen table. The cool, wooden surface felt good against his soft feathers and fur. He chimed, happy with his new position. His uncle and father were staring down at him; one smiling at the adorable colt, while the other seemed to not care.

"Hold him," Rainbolt said softly as his brother removed his hooves from his foal.

"Hold him?"

"Yeah... You don't want him to roll off or anything."

Moonstruck muttered something inaudible under his breath and gently placed his hoof on his son's chest. For a moment, his breathing intensified and he looked up at his father wordily.

Oh, don't give me that pitiful expression. I'm not going to crush you....

"Alright, now..." Rainbolt thought for a moment. "Would you like me to change him the first time?"

"Be my guest."

Happily, Moonstruck fully removed his hoof from his son's torso, only to be replaced by Rainbolt's a short moment later. Before he could touch him, however, Blue Moon gurgled and rolled around on his back, trying to avoid his touch. The smile on his face reassured his uncle it wasn't out of fear.

"Awe, he's like a cute little rolley-polley!" Rainbolt commented, gently tickling the newborn's tummy. He giggled a bit, beaming at his attentive uncle. Before the foal could be loved on too much, Moonstruck interrupted the adorable scene.

"Don't you have more important matters to deal with aside from making the damn foal giggle?"

"Oh..." Rainbolt blushed lightly and looked down at the little foal beneath him. Blue Moon wet himself a little bit only a few minutes before that. Of course, the experienced parent recognized the problem within little time. The main conflict, however, had been finding a good place to lie the foal down to change him. Moonstruck didn't want a mess on his carpet, the bathroom was too small, his bedroom was "off limits", and well, at the time, the kitchen seemed like the only solution. Instead of setting him on the surface Moonstruck used to prepare food, they went with the more comfortable option; the smooth surface of his kitchen table.

"So, Moonstruck, you need to pay very close attention to this." Rainbolt paused, and after hearing no response, continued. "It's a very delicate process. You just have to be as gentle as you can." Demonstrating his words, Rainbolt undid the straps of the foal's diaper. It loosened and became very easy to simply slide off the foal's sides. Unfortunately for the stallion, he'd never taken care of a young colt, and didn't expect the trail of pee that immediately followed the removal of Blue's diaper. Rainbolt blushed and tried as hard as he could to block the stream, while his brother found himself chuckling. After a few moments of holding the diaper in place, the stallion noticed the urine flow stop. Hesitantly, he removed the shield from the loaded weapon. Nothing. The only result left behind was a small puddle of urine on the dining table.

"Golly..." Rainbolt started. "I wasn't really expecting that." He blushed and inconspicuously wiped a couple droplets of urine from his face.

"I was." Moonstruck smiled, feeling almost proud of himself. "Sunny informed me of all his odd little habits. I thought you'd be experienced enough to know."

"Oh..." The stallion frowned. "Well, I mean, I don't really know a lot about male foals..."

The older brother simply shrugged.

"Just do your thing..."

"Okay." Rainbolt tossed his sibling one last glance before returning his attention to the foal beneath him. He was simply smiling, as if he were proud of his accident. The pegasus sighed and used his wing to brush the diaper away, careful not to touch the nasty parts. He the used the same wing to scoot the foal back a bit so he wasn't resting in his own pee. The relocation of the foal made Rainbolt lean over the wet counter to get to the sanitary wipes and baby powder. He brought them closer, but didn't immediately touch anything.

"Now, what you're going to want to do is-"

"I know how to do it, Rainbolt." Moonstruck interrupted rudely. Rainbolt twisted his lips and gazed at his brother.

"Well, there's no reason to be all mean about it," he said after a few moments of silence.

"Well, there's no damn reason for you to make me feel like an idiot, but you do anyway."

"I'm sorry..." Rainbolt frowned. Internally, he was trying to figure out why his brother was so sensitive about his pride. He'd always seemed so calm and collected. He couldn't blame him, though. The whole ordeal must have been awful for him. It was still no excuse to be rude, though. "Why don't you do it if you know what you're doing?"

"You offered."

"And you should be grateful I even agreed to help you."

"And you should be grateful I took my meds this morning!"

"What? But your meds have nothing to do with your sadism!"

"Yes they do!"

"That's not what you told mom."

Moonstruck, to that simply gaped. The thought of his brother and mother talking about him wasn't a pleasant one. He didn't want to think of the possible stories they'd exchanged. He wondered if they'd talked about him in a positive light. The fact his medication had been brought up, however, didn't exactly bring him any reassurance.

"You and mother were talking about me?" His tone increased in volume, threatning his brother to tell the truth.

"Well, yeah." Rainbolt stated bluntly. "Why wouldn't we bring you up now and again?"

"Well, I mean, bringing me up in conversation isn't a problem, but why in Celestia's name would you bring up such matters?"

Matters?

Rainbolt paused a moment before answering. He'd been the one to bring up his medicine, yet he seemed beyond defensive to hear others talking about it. Besides, there wasn't a lot to discuss about Moonstruck outside of his issues. Maybe he was sensitive about others talking about his problems? Trying to set himself in Moonstruck's hooves, Rainbolt almost understood where he was coming from.

"Well.... I don't know.... you're sort of family...." The pegasus' voice decrescendoed. Although he was at first confused by his brother's angered tone, he quickly understood where it had come from. It couldn't be easy carrying the reputation he had. "I'm sorry," he apologized in a soft tone.

"It's fine," the older sibling replied, trying hard not to grit his teeth. His aubergine eyes wandered away, knowing if he made contact with his brother, it'd be far harder to control his brewing anger.

"Okay..." Awkwardly, Rainbolt shuffled his hooves, giving the tension a moment to die down. The thick feeling filled the air even more every second. It got harder to talk. Both pegasi started to question which would break the tension. Fortunately for them, neither had to do the dreaded deed. The awkward silence was shattered by the soft gurgles of Blue Moon. The adults perked their ears up.

"We forgot about the foal," the new uncle muttered under his breath. His brother replied behind gritted teeth.

"I realize that." The harsh tension in his tone caused the hair on the back of the stallion's neck stand up. The same fear that filled him as a young colt reinvaded his supposedly cured heart.

"I-I can finish him up if you'd like."

"Please do," he said with little emotion.

Silently, the younger brother nodded. Moonstruck saw nothing after his brother turned around and got to business, but did hear the faint sound of hoofsteps against the tile floor. His sibling's hasty submission forced a small, sly smirk onto the stallion's face.

Oh, Rainbolt... You're so damn easy.

The afternoon crept by slowly. The crazy day of fighting, messes, and the foal was hard for both brothers to digest. Even the more experienced of the two adults had been exhausted, and beyond ready to go home. The only factor keeping the stallion there was his concern for the newborn. Surely, Moonstruck wouldn't be able to take care of the poor thing all by himself. Heck, he had a hard enough time settling in with assistance! If Rainbolt didn't have to pick his daughter up from school that day, he would have convinced himself to stay later. Maybe, Rainbow would "need help with an assignment" or "have an event she urgently had to attend" for the remainder of the day. Sure, he could have easily told the truth and saved himself trouble, but he didn't want hurt his brother's feelings. He actually couldn't help but feel a bit bad about mentioning his medicine earlier. Well, technically he mentioned it, but Moonstruck was a bit scary when he was angry, and he didn't want to bring out his scary side in front of the foal. Or himself, for that matter.

Luckily for Rainbolt, he only had an hour left to suffer before he was dismissed to his own parental duties. He would feel bad for Blue Moon, though. Hopefully, his brother would be responsible. In the case Moonstruck got confused or distracted during the day, Blue Moon had already been fed, well-rested, given plenty of attention, and at that point was receiving a bath. That was enough for a foal to survive until the next day... right?

Brushing the thought off, Rainbolt concentrated on the moment before him; getting Blue Moon in the bath. The stallion gave his brother the old tub he used to bathe Dashie in. Sure, it had some years to it, but it was in decent enough condition. At that moment, it was resting in the middle of Moonstruck's regular tub. The owner of the house was sitting on the toilet next to the tub, holding his naked, squirmy foal securely in his hooves. His brother was on the ground next to him, secretly judging the filth in his bathroom. The water was running, and Rainbolt's hoof was lazily drooped over the edge, waiting for the temperature to be perfect.

"Ugh..." The older stallion muttered under his breath. "Why is this taking so damn long?"

"Moonstruck..." Rainbolt started in a calming manner. "You need to learn patience. It'll take a few moments."

The stallion sighed and picked his foal up a bit more, bringing him into his chest. Blue Moon gurgled and put his hoof into his mouth. The younger sibling smiled at the image, while the other frowned and gently pat the foal's back.

He's learning...

After a short minute, Rainbolt finally removed his hoof from the running stream of tap water.

"Alright, that should be good..." he mused.

At that point, the water had been lukewarm; perfect for a young foal. The stallion slid the plastic tub under the running faucet and allowed it to fill. When it was about two-thirds full with liquid, he shut the water off and pushed the container closer to the middle of the bath.

"Now, you need to put him in gently." Moonstruck shot his brother a sharp stare for emphasizing the last word. Rainbolt replied to the scold with a sheepish smile.

"I know what to do, Rainbolt!"

"Sorry... I just wanted to remind you is all."

The white pegasus simply scrunched his nose and went back to the task at hoof; washing the newborn. Moonstruck lifted the foal from his shoulder, and kept a tight grasp on him to be sure he didn't slip. As slowly as he possibly could, the stallion went to putting Blue Moon in his bath. When the infant's hooves touched the surface of the water, he giggled and flailed his hind legs in a cute fashion. Water splashed outside the little tub and into the ivory one. Blue's uncle couldn't help but let out a long "Awwweee!", while his father only grew nervous. With all the foal's kicking, he was slightly afraid of positioning him wrong and possibly hurting him.

Oh, come on, Moonstruck! Don't be a wimp! Just get him in there.

Awkwardly, the stallion set his son down in the rectangular tub. At first, Blue Moon had to oddly adjust his legs to get them to fit right, but quickly figured it out. The moment he was sitting comfortably in the tub, a large smile spread across his face. He giggled and happily started splashing around. Water went everywhere, and both parents shielded their faces; Rainbolt with his wing and Moonstruck with his hooves. After the aggressive flailing died down, both ponies lowered their defense, to see a happy, gurgling foal squirming around his tub. The proud uncle awed, and even the foal's father couldn't help but smile a little. Just a little.

"He's so cute..." the periwinkle pegasus said with a smile. Blue Moon responded to his uncle with a low whine and splash in his direction. Moonstruck chuckled.

"I suppose he is..."

For a moment, both pegasi said nothing. They simply stared at the small pony with amazement in their eyes. There was something about the beginning of one's life that was almost sad, yet beautiful. Even Moonstruck could admire the odd beauty. He simply never found pleasure in dealing with such beauty.

"So..." Rainbolt started, shattering the silence after a few long moments. "Wanna get to washing him?"

"Oh, right." The stallion was awaken from his daze. "I was just wandering a bit..."

"I know." The experienced parent tossed his sibling a smile. "So, do you have any foal shampoo?"

"Yes. I bought some the other day..."

"Oh, good! Where is it?"

Moonstruck thought for a moment. Usually when he brought toiletries home, he'd either stick them in his medicine cabinet, or lazily toss them in the cabinet beneath his sink. At the moment, he didn't recall seeing the shampoo when he went to take his medicine that morning. It wasn't hard to figure out the likely place of the soap after that.

"I believe it's somewhere in the sink cabinet..."

Moonstruck rose from the toilet seat and made his way over to the white-painted counter. He opened the cabinet below, only to greeted by a rather large pile of trash, and a scurrying roach. The stallion stomped on the pest before it could even think about running away. His cabinets usually had bugs of some sort in them; especially the ones in his bathroom. In the bottom cabinet alone, there were several dead bugs, old wrappers, bottles of cleaner and soap, toiletries, and the plumbing system for his bathroom sink. He stuck his hoof in it and made an attempt to find the desired item. He picked up a bottle of soap. The label read "Bubbles 'N' Suds: Lemon Scented Dish Soap".

Why is this even in here...?

Disregarding of the bottle, Moonstruck tossed it aside and back into the odd and end junk. He picked up another promising bottle, only to realize it was conditioner he'd yet opened. That was tossed in the back of the cabinet with dish soap. The stallion shuffled through a few more items before at long last coming across the one requested. The shampoo was in a light pink bottle with smiling, well-drawn filly in a bathtub on the front. The label across the picture read "Lil' Loolies: Strawberry Scented Foal Shampoo (Tear Free!)".

"Got it," the stallion announced as he closed the cabinet door.

"Good!"

While Moonstruck was trying to locate the foal shampoo, Rainbolt was busy lathering the young baby in water. Blue Moon, of course, thought of it as a game and tried to splash his uncle in return. The stallion smiled and took the splashes, happy to see the foal enjoying himself. Blue's father, however, was only concerned with the amount of water he'd have to clean up when the ordeal was done. The stallion quickly decided it'd be better to leave his worries in his head. He relocated himself back on the toilet, and placed the bottle on the edge of the tub. Rainbolt stopped what he was doing and picked up the shampoo before briefly examining it. He chuckled when saw the label, and already went to getting it opened.

"When Dash was a foal, I used to use this same brand on her."

"Fascinating..." Moonstruck sarcastically murmured under his breath.

Rainbolt, although aware of the sarcasm in his brother's tone, decided it would be best to simply ignore it. Instead, he popped open the royal blue cap of the shampoo and squeezed a sizable amount onto his left hoof. The liquid looked like jelly, and was a light shade of pink. The scent, however, wasn't anything close to the promised strawberry.

"So..." Rainbolt started washing Blue Moon by putting his hooves at the foal's shoulders. "You're going to want to start at the shoulders and chest and whatnot. It's most comfortable for the foal."

The stallion began his demonstration by gently rubbing the soap into the foal's fur, staying around the instructed areas. The liquid soap quickly turned to pink-tinted bubbles, which made it easier to see in his snowy white fur. Rainbolt continued to gently rub around the neck and chest, making sure it was extra foamy. Moonstruck watched with little interest. Was it that necessary to instruct him on how to wash a foal? How hard could it actually be? Aside from being violently splashed at, the task didn't seem too difficult.

"And after you get it all good and foamed up..." The pegasus reached down to the water and gently splashed some up and over the foal's chest. The bubbly suds slid down the foal's fur and into the water below. After several splashes, the foal was almost completely foam-free. "And he's all good." The stallion paused and inspected the infant, making sure he didn't miss a spot. Once done, he smiled, and slowly turned the tub around, making sure he didn't freak Blue Moon out too badly.

"What are you doing?"

"Just turning him around so we can get his wings..." From that, his brother seemed a bit confused. Rainbolt cleared his throat, and went on to explain. "Well, he's a little foal, so he doesn't know how to preen yet. Even if you don't fly, there's still a lot of dust and grime that can build up between the feathers. And if you decide not to shower one day, you should still quickly wash your wings off."

With that, Rainbolt repeated the process of popping off the lid and squirting soap into his hoof. Moonstruck simply stared in awe as his brother went to work on the foal's wings. He seemed so educated on such a simple subject. Could his brother really have been more intelligent than he was? The stallion frowned and shook his head, trying not to think of the possibility.

Don't get ahead of yourself, Moonstruck. He's simply more educated in certain areas than you've had the chance to be. Plus, those eight years you spent rotting away in that damned mental facility don't even count as part of your life. It's almost as if Rainbolt's four years your senior... Don't get panicked over him knowing a few random facts you haven't got the chance to learn yet.

Even with his mental encouragement, the stallion couldn't help but feel a bit inferior at that point. He blushed, and let out an angry "I know," from between his teeth. His brother simply nodded, as if his mind were in the sky. His hooves gently stroked the feather tips of the foal's wings. The little colt seemed to enjoy it, and it even relaxed him. The light pink foam started forming between the feathers. He worked his way from the tips, and started going further to the base of his wings. Blue Moon let out little gurgles and moans, appreciating the heavenly massage. Rainbolt chuckled at the noises.

"He's so cute..." the stallion said. He glanced over to his brother and tossed him a smile. "Do you think you could go get a cup to do his mane?"

"Why don't you get it?"

"Well, I mean, if you want to wash him instead, that wouldn't be a problem..."

Moonstruck grunted in an irritated fashion. That only made Rainbolt equally as irritated.

"You know... this is your foal." he reminded his brother harshly.

"Yeah. And?"

"And I think since he is yours you should maybe try pitching in a little more than what you've been doing."

"Rainbolt, I don't know hardly a lick about what I'm doing."

"Well, you know how to get a cup. And every time I try to explain something to you, you always tell me you already know."

"That's because you always explain to me the simplest of things I already understand."

"Well, I don't know what you do and don't know. I didn't know half the things I taught you when I first became a parent!"

"Well, that's simply because-" Moonstruck cut himself off, thinking of the fact he may need his brother in the future. Calling him an idiot wouldn't have been the wisest decision.

"Because what?" Rainbolt asked, raising the volume in his voice a little.

"Forget it."

"No, tell me!"

"Can't you just learn to drop a conversation?"

To that, Rainbolt puffed out his cheeks, trying as hard as he could not to let his anger get the best of him.

"Okay, Moonstruck..." The stallion took in a deep breath as he tried to control himself. "Are you going to stay here and take care of the foal, or go to your kitchen and get a cup?"

The stallion paused a moment, debating on how to respond

"You know, you should have told me we needed a cup before we decided to put the thing in the bath."

"I forgot!"

"Well, I hadn't the slightest clue foals needed cups when bathing, so it's sort of your responsibility!"

"Well, this foal's your responsibility, but I don't see you doing an awful lot for it!"

"Well, you offered to help!"

"Yeah, help! Not do every damn thing by myself!"

"It's not my fault you're so easy to push around!"

To that, the younger sibling gasped. Sure, it wouldn't have shocked him to know Moonstruck was using him, but the explanation behind it did hurt quite a bit. He knew he was soft, but... Was he really that easy to take control of?

"That's because you're freaking crazy and I'm afraid of you!" the younger brother responded hastily. Moonstruck instantly replied with anger.

"I'm not crazy!"

"If you weren't crazy, you wouldn't be on medication!"

"I'm not, though!" Moonstruck defended himself with viciousness in his tone. His blood was boiling as his temper was being teased.

"How can you even say that? Mom read your old journal entries and-"

"And that's why she sent me away to living nightmare!"

"She was just trying to help you!" Rainbolt argued his statement almost sympathetically.

"I didn't ask anypony for help!"

At that point, Blue Moon was covering his ears with hooves, desperately trying to block out the loud noise. He was whining at a decent volume, but the adults were to busy worrying about their argument to care at the time. Tears had already started to flow from the foal's royal blue eyes.

"Well, you needed it! What did you want us to do?"

"I-I don't know! Ask me before you ship me off to some damn asylum!"

"It wasn't an asylum!"

"So? I was still treated like an impony, immoral being! Just because it didn't have some label doesn't mean it was any less cruel!"

"Cruel? Moonstruck, you were ill in the head! They're not supposed to treat you like you're normal!"

"I was not!"

"Yes you were!"

"I wasn't!" With all his anger, Moonstruck pounded the bathtub, sending a canon-like bang throughout the bathroom. From that, the little foal went from sobbing to shrieking in an instant. Both adults snapped out of their childish argument to realize the foal they'd been abandoning. His wings were still foamy with suds, and his eyes were clamped tight in emotional agony. The two brothers felt very guilty when they realized their mistake. Although Rainbolt felt a bit worse about it, Moonstruck was the first to react. He slowly turned the foal's tub around and picked him up out of the soapy, wet mess. He hoisted the colt up upon his chest, not caring about the sudsy mess it'd cause. He took a moment to comfort his son. Whether it was out of instinct, or a way of slapping his brother in the face by saying "Look who's the better parent now", Rainbolt wasn't quite sure. All he knew, was he was still pretty steamed with the stallion, and didn't want to be in his presence any longer.

"Look what you did," Moonstruck accused with an angry glare.

What I did?

Rainbolt blinked a few times, trying to comprehend how he could have possibly been the cause of the foal's breakdown. His brother's accusation, however, did nothing to ease his anger.

"Well, you know what, if you're still that delusional, maybe they should have kept you in there a few more years." The angered pegasus rose from his position and started towards the bathroom door. His brother gazed at him for the moment, still trying to calm down his upset foal and comprehend what he was just told.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," Rainbolt replied quickly, anger still lingering in his tone.

"But you said-"

"I didn't promise anything..." The stallion turned to his brother. "And I sure as hay don't owe you anything."

Moonstruck took in a breath, but didn't reply. In a way, he was shocked. His brother had never stood up to him like that. Sure, he'd defended himself, told him to stop, and occasionally reminded him of his problems, but the simply fact he was told he could have used a few more years in the mental home pierced straight through his soul like a dagger, reminding him of his inner demons and the way they'd taunt him in the lonely hours of the moonfall. A part of him shattered from his brothers wishes, and his mind went into a panicked search for some kind of answer. It didn't take him long to be struck with the simplest solution.

What if I'm the problem...

Moonstruck sighed as he laid back on his bed. His aubergine orbs rested on the ceiling above. His mind was lost in an unorganized arrangement of thoughts, questions, and possibilities. Did his brother hate him? Would his son grow up to hate him? Did he hate himself? Maybe, Rainbolt was simply upset with him. Maybe he'd be opened to an apology. But how could he remain the superior sibling if he admitted he was wrong? Why was that so important to him? Was his pride more significant than his brother? Would his brother even want to talk to him after the events of that night?

The stallion frowned as he glared up at the ceiling.

"Maybe they should have kept me locked up a few more years... Everypony would be far better off that way. Who has use for a lunatic like yourself?" The stallion felt cursed tears invading his eyes as he thought about himself. "How can anypony even love you? You had Sunny less than a day, but if she'd have known your past, there's no way she'd have gone for you so quickly." He sighed. "Even if that damn mare never found out about my less desirable traits, she'd still probably ditch me after her heart fully recovered." Trying to stay tough, Moonstruck raised a hoof to his eyes and wiped away a descending teardrop. "And to think everypony who's ever loved you was driven away... Rainbolt, Sunshine, Sunny... Even Prism not the biggest fan of you. Heck, eventually you'll end up driving away Rainbow Dash... Probably even Blue Moon." The stallion sighed and started blinking furiously, trying to shoo away his unwanted tears. "Ugh, you bucking wimp..."

Moonstruck sat up. He met eyes with his closet across from his bed, and the clock above that. It was already eight in the evening. All day, he'd been extremely caught up with Blue Moon, and was very tired. After Rainbolt left him, he finished up the foal's bath, fed him again, changed his diaper a few times, made a slight attempt to play with him, fed him again a while after that, then put him to rest in his crib. Moonstruck said he'd sleep out in the living room with him, which he did plan on doing, but just wanted to think some things through in his room first. The empty atmosphere did allow him to think clearly, even in his wrecked state.

I don't think I'll ever have the ability to sleep again....

Tiredly, the stallion plopped back onto his bed, landing in his thick sheets with a soft phomp!. His eyes were sagging with dark bags, and his mind was fogging up from stress.

Ugh. Maybe there's a small possibility Blue Moon will still grow to love me. I mean, he seemed to like me pretty well a good portion of the day. Maybe if I simply show him affection and protect him to the best of my abilities, he'll manage to grow on me... It's a possibility. The stallion let out a long, unhappy exhale as he pondered over the price of love. If he displayed more of his affectionate, loving side, he could possibly win over the love of others. He wasn't an idiot, and it was something he'd recognized for a very long time. After experiencing Rainbow, Sunny Skies, and even reflecting on love others had showed him as a child, he was just then realizing the true value of love from another pony. Was it really weak to simply want love?

Frowning, the stallion gave the ceiling his attention once more. He was more than conflicted at that point. He wanted to be loved, yet he didn't want to give up his pride. From what he could tell, there was no way to have both, so he'd have to choose. He just didn't know which would be the right decision, even though the solution seemed obvious. There was no reason to keep being a jerk for the sake of his pride, yet he didn't know how to easily get rid of all of it at once. Maybe there was a way he could slowly become nice to those around him, then receive their trust and love throughout time?

Or maybe you could stop being such a baby and stop worrying about something as petty as pride.

Moonstruck let out a sigh. At that point, he felt more self-hatred than ever. He want to earn ponies' affection, but taking the sudden shift from mean-spirited to soft-hearted would be dramatic, and hard to get used to.

The stallion frowned and turned from the ceiling, onto his side. He stared out the window, where he saw a half-moon over the sky, shining brightly over the deep forest. Large, swaying shadows of tree branches danced on the ground below, waving about. His eyes glazed over as he peered at the moon, thinking deeply of his son.

Come on, Buddy... Maybe you should give your mind a rest for the evening.

From there, the tired stallion closed his eyes, trying to get some rest. He was already feeling more relaxed. He tried hard not to think of anything, simply letting his mind go blank. His body softened, and he felt all the aches and pains of stress evaporate off his flesh. He smiled a bit, finally feeling at ease.

This is really nice... Just get a good nap in here. If Blue Moon needs anything, he'll cry for you. Just relax and get a good night's-

"Daddy."

Moonstruck's eyes opened at the soft sound of the boyish coo. He rolled over from his current position, until he faced the opposite side. In the hallway, he saw his son standing with little emotion in his eyes. He was eight at the time, possibly nine. His royal blue eyes had grown large, and were the highlight of his face. His mane had grown swooopy like his dad's, and was worn in a similar style, only with more bangs. His wings were far larger, and his coat looked healthy. On his flanks, rested his cutie marks. They were blue-tinted moons, both hidden behind a couple clouds. His father was shocked at first, and his eyes went wide.

"Blue Moon...?" he questioned, gazing at his son. The young colt nodded. "I thought you went to bed."

"I can't sleep."

"Oh..." Moonstruck sat up, wiping away some crust from his eyes. He patted the edge of his bed, inviting his son to join him. Of course, the little colt complied and made his way into the bedroom, then up onto the bed with his father. The stallion yawned, which was echoed by his young son. His adorable, male-soprano voice was oddly cute to Moonstruck. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm doin' okay." Blue replied with a smile. "What's up with you?"

"Just going over some things... Thinking." his dad admitted.

"Oh." Blue Moon shuffled a bit, getting a bit further from his father. "Was it about Uncle Rainbolt?" he asked.

Moonstruck sighed.

"He was a part of it, yes."

"Oh..."

The soft, unhappy tone the colt spoke in worried the stallion.

"Blue Moon?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there something on your mind?"

"No," he lied.

"Are you sure?"

For a moment, the foal paused and looked away. When his eyes darted back towards his father, he seemed pretty nervous.

"You have to promise you won't get mad at me if I tell you?"

"I promise," Moonstruck agreed hesitantly.

The young colt took in a breath before gazing at his father. His answer took a long time to come out, and when it did, it was incredibly short and false.

"I-I don't know."

"You can be honest with me..." The stallion reassured his colt with a soft smile.

"I-I.... Dad..." Blue Moon paused another long moment. "I don't know... You seemed kind of... mean, today. Was there something wrong?"

Moonstruck couldn't help but smile at the innocence in the young foal's voice. His eyes were glittering with regret, but the stallion knew it was true, which is why he didn't get too defensive.

"That's okay, Son. I can see why you'd think that..." The stallion let out a sigh. "I was just a bit stressed is all."

"Thanks. Was it my fault?"

"No, son." Moonstruck chuckled. "It was my fault for not anticipating such responsibility."

"Oh..." was the only thing that left Blue Moon's lips after that. He glanced down, and thought for a moment. His awkward silence worried his father even further.

"Are you alright?"

The foal looked up at his dad again. His lips were quivering a bit, and his eyes were still consumed with nervousness. His dad picked up the hints quickly and tossed him another smile of reassurance.

"Is there something you need to tell me, Blue Moon?"

"I... I don't know..." Blue bit his lip. His father hadn't been mad the first time, so why would he the second? He took in a breath, and hoped his dad wouldn't snap over his confession. "I-I think you should maybe apologize." The colt blushed a bit. "I-I kind of want to see Uncle again... and, I'm afraid he won't come visit me if he doesn't like you."

To that, Moonstruck frowned. He knew it as well as his son did; he did act like a jerk to his younger brother, and he had most his life. He'd never genuinely apologized for it, and maybe it was time he should at least try. Heck, maybe it was even the first step to earning love from him. He did not, however, believe Rainbolt would ever disconnect from his nephew, no matter how much he despised Moonstruck.

"I know, Blue Moon... I just don't know how to at this point. From the events of today, he may simply assume I'm apologizing so I can get help from him once more. I don't want to look that way..."

"Then maybe you should make it more special...."

"How?"

To that, the colt had to think for a moment. His hoof went up to his chin and he stuck his tongue out in concentration. Moonstruck took a moment to think, too, but didn't make it nearly as obvious. After what seemed like a minute, Blue Moon finally smiled with an idea.

"Wait! I know something!"

With that, the young colt hopped up from the bed. Moonstruck watched as his colt made his way towards his closet. Instantly, the stallion spread his wings and flew after his son, making it to the closet door moments before his foal. He blocked the entrance; denying his son access and giving him a stern look.

"No going in my closet!"

Blue Moon paused in his steps, and took a few paces back. Quickly, he nodded, not wanting to upset his dad.

"Sorry..."

"It's okay... I haven't warned you yet before. Just, what is it you need?"

"I was thinking maybe there's something old you could give him. Like, I don't know, to show him you actually care. Maybe something from your foalhood..."

Moonstruck stared down at his child, wondering what he meant. His mind was sorting through a cluster of old memories, trying to think of odd and end things he could have possibly held onto throughout the years. His mind was in a fog, yet he continued to think. After nearly a minute, the stallion's brain finally clicked with that of his foal's.

"Hold on a moment!" Moonstruck smiled widely as he had a sudden realization. "I think I know what I can do..." Blue Moon smiled at his father, happy he'd had an epiphany. His father smiled back, but quickly realized he'd have to have his son leave the room for a moment. "Umm... Blue Moon?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think there's any way you could possibly excuse yourself for a moment while I retrieve something?"

"Oh, uh, sure!"

The colt smiled awkwardly, before silently backing out of the room. His father acknowledged his obedience with a smile, before turning to his closet. When he heard the faint sound of hoof-steps exciting the room, he suddenly remembered something and called down the hallway.

"Hey, Blue Moon?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could take care of yourself for a bit? Possibly a half hour or so?"

"Ummm... Sure!"

"Okay, good... I love you, Blue!"

For a brief moment, there was nothing but silence. Moonstruck's ears stood erect, trying to listen. It wasn't for a good few seconds that he finally heard the sweet, emotional, "I love you, too" echoing from the hallway.

Moonstruck awkwardly stared at the home before him. The fluffy, one-story cloud home made him nervous, simply knowing the ponies who occupied it. His heart was racing a million miles an hour, and his mind was going through a complicated series of confusion, anger, and fear.

Maybe you don't have to do this... Maybe you can just go home and attend to your child. Maybe you can forget all about this and hope he forgives you in the distant future. Or there's always the possibility you never ask him for forgiveness, then you proceed have a loving relationship with your child. That could work, as well... Maybe you could abandon this entire country and pretend you never had a son or family to start with. You could start anew, find a mare, get married, and nopony would be around to expose your dark past. That actually doesn't sound like a bad plan... Maybe you could just tough this all out and proceed to have a happy life with your new son. That doesn't sound to bad, either... Ugh. Although this path may be easier, you still have to go through the humiliation of apologizing. I wish there were some way you could apologize to somepony from a distance. Well, I suppose you could send a letter, but that'd take far too long. Plus, it would make you seem childish for not directly saying what you need to. Whatever, you just need to knock on the door, say a few words, and then-

It was at that moment, Moonstruck's thoughts were cutoff by the creaking of the front door a few feet away from him. His eyes grew dramatically, and he tried hard to brush off his nervousness. He took in a breath and calmed himself. He didn't want to seem too worried about the ordeal. When his brother opened the front door, however, all hope of remaining calm was lost. At least he didn't have to go through the heart-wrenching task of knocking on the door.

"Hello..." The white pegasus started, in an almost nervous manner.

"Moonstruck," his brother greeted in a surprisingly stoic tone.

"I... I just wanted to stop by real quick to, uh...." The stallion gulped and shuffled his hoof in the thick, cloud layer. "Rainbolt, I.... I'm, uh... I'm really...." Moonstruck blushed and looked at his brother, hoping his eyes would convey the message well enough to get him off the hook. At that point, the younger stallion seemed to have a certain softness in his eyes. His brother seemed to be trying to apologize, which the stallion found sweet, but he still wasn't completely accepting after all he'd put him through.

"You're what?" Rainbolt asked. Moonstruck could tell by the cockiness on his tongue he teasing him.

"I'm sorry..." the stallion muttered with frown. The younger brother took in a breath, ready to reply, but Moonstruck cut him off early. "And listen, I know you may not believe I'm sorry and whatnot simply because of my attitude towards you today, but I'm being serious." The pegasus paused a moment and looked at his brother, almost pitifully. "I, umm.... I... Rainbolt, I apologize for ruining your foalhood and everything. I really do... I should have shown you more consideration than I did... I-I'm sorry."

In response to that, Rainbolt felt his yellow eyes widen. Sure, he'd expected an apology for the events that happened that day, but he didn't expect an apology for things that happened so many years ago. Had he honestly felt guilty about it...? From the words he spoke, and the tone in which he said them, it almost felt emotional. The stallion frowned, not quite sure how to respond. He always sort of wanted a genuine apology for all the trouble he caused in the past, but never actually imagined it happening.

"Gee... I- I don't really know what to say to that."

Moonstruck simply smiled.

"Oh, don't say anything quite yet. I still have something I need to show you."

That line certainly struck Rainbolt's curiosity. He perked up his ears, and before he could even ask what it was, Moonstruck was making his way from the front of the stallion's home, to a corner cut-off by a tuff of cloud. Behind it, he hid a small, plastic bag with an item inside. The periwinkle pegasus couldn't quite tell what it was from the shadow, which only increased his fascination.

"What's that...?"

Moonstruck smiled.

"It's just a little memento from our foalhoods... I don't suppose you remember that time I got mad at you and burnt your old stuffed bear, do you?"

"Oh, uhh... Yeah?"

The stallion smiled and tossed his brother the bag. A light blush spread across his cheeks as he looked away.

"Mother bought us all the same replica that one year... She found mine in an old box when we sorting through our old stuff. I have no use for it.... I know you probably don't either, but it's at least some way of making up for it."

Rainbolt looked at his brother a moment, a bit shocked by his offer. He opened the bag, only to see what looked like an exact copy of the teddy he used to own. It was a light shade of brown, with black buttons for eyes, and a little, green bow tie around his neck. The stallion smiled at the children's toy, feeling a little part of him that was once shattered mend. He looked up at his brother with tears glistening over his yellow eyes. Moonstruck blushed heavier when he saw the emotions he'd brought upon his brother.

"Gosh... This is really sweet of you."

"I suppose..."

"Well, I mean it is, and I just wasn't expecting this, but-" Rainbolt had to cut himself off, realizing he was too excited to talk. Instead, he showed his affection by forcefully tackling his brother into a loving hug. Moonstruck, of course, was a bit turned-off at first, but quickly came to realize it'd been what he wanted all along. He smiled a bit, and for the first time in all his lifetime, willingly hugged his brother back, placing a single hoof on his shoulders and rubbing gently. After a short moment, the two broke apart.

"Thank you, Moonstruck..."

"It's really no problem... So, I, uh... I suppose this means there's no hard feelings at this point?"

"Well, I..." Rainbolt thought for a moment. "Not personally. I mean, you still scare me a bit, but that's okay."

"It's fine... Also, I'd like to mention you don't have to pitch in with Blue Moon any longer."

"Oh... Well, okay... I'm sure you'll still need some help though." Rainbolt paused for a moment. "Speaking of the little guy, who's watching him at the time?"

Moonstruck chuckled.

"Oh, don't worry about him! He told me he could handle himself for a half hour or so!"

The smile on the younger pony's face instantly wiped away, only to replaced by a frown.

"What do you mean... he told you he could handle himself?"

"Oh, right! You see, he was the one who convinced me to come down here. We were just talking before I..."

Moonstruck trailed off, and his eyes widened in a sudden realization.

Oh, shit!

"Rainbolt, I-I apologize once more, but I seriously need to get going..." He tossed his brother a smile and backed away. His wings spread opened as he neared the cloud. "It was a lovely chat, but I must be going... Umm... Have a nice evening!"

With that, the stallion quickly swooped off the cloud and flew as fast as his weak wings would carry him through the cloudy skies. His heart was racing, and each moment he worried more and more about his young, sweet, and completely helpless Blue Moon, miles away from where he was then.

Author's Note:

I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you can't tell, I put quite a lot of effort into it. Thank you all for reading, and thank you for your patients!

Also, cheers to 5,000+ story views, and 200,000+ words! I love you all!

Comments

[TurboBlaze]

Neat little fatherhood thing, even though I will forever despise Moonstruck. It does seem like he wants to be a good father, but maybe hallucinating isn't the best thing...

One grammatical thing that grated on me was whenever you typed "patients", it should be "patience". I know they sound the same, but "patients" refers to people being treated at a hospital, etc. while "patience" is the state of being patient. Sorry if that annoys you, I'm just a bit of a stickler for grammar.

Other than that, great chapter.

[Maxxarcade]

YAY new chapter! I've missed this story :-)

Glad to see some progress between those siblings. Maybe things will be ok after all.

[Soulful Ginger 17]

Yay, new chapter! Yay, more Moonstruck and Rainbolt bonding! Yay, baby pony cuteness Yay, yay!

[toxiconym]

yesyyesyeysyesyeysyeyesyeyseysyeyYESYEYSEYSEYSYEYESYESYEYSYSEYESY

[Tatsurou]

So now Moonstruck is hallucinating Blue Moon as a slightly older child having become his conscience?

...not the strangest thing I've ever read.

[heirofaniu]

So, Schizophrenia or DID?

[Brony4eva]

Loved it and it was so sweet how moonstruck apologized but im kinda confused on the talking Blue Moon bit like is moonstruck imagining it or is it months later but it cant be that im just confused can you please explain to me what happened if you want to that is. more story

[Shadow Kick]

Blue Moon is a great character. He and Rainbow should interact.

[articunos bitch]

Call Me Crazy

You're more loony than the Command Module from the Apollo rockets.

"I'll be right back!" he growled. "And don't you dare think of moving an inch!"

Bad idea! Don't leave baby alone.

"Sorry for being happy and stuff..."

You should be!

Or maybe he just doesn't like you."

He loves his Daddy! How could you say that Rainbolt?

"Fine..." Moonstruck mumbled inaudibly.
"Good!"

Patience is key when dealing with new babies and Daddies.

His mom always made time to cuddle him, so he was a bit confused on why he hadn't been snuggled once since he arrived at the mysterious pony's house.

It's a great way for baby to bond to whoever holds him, so yes, Cuddles are Magic.

"Pride? Moonstruck, when you become a parent, the only thing you should have pride in is your children." He frowned a bit. "I know you're new to everything, and you may not feel that emotionally connected to the foal yet, but once you start to like him, it's like you never want to let 'em grow."

"Yes, of course. I was just wandering somewhere. Sorry."

Goodness, is this going where I think it is? If so... Edit: You did not go the way I thought you might. False alarm.

"Oh, wait! Wait! You wanna see something foals love?"..."See? He loved it."

I suspect the questioning of a experienced parent to make this chapter.

"Just... Could you possibly teach me to do that thing with your mouth?" he asked, glancing away as scarlet filled his cheeks.

Innuendo alert!

Oh, come on, Moonstruck! You seriously can't be giving into him that. You have far more strength than that... Then, again....

No matter how big you are, no matter how dangerous you are, no matter what you have done in your past, if a two-year old give you a plastic phone saying "Ring-Ring", you answer it.

"I don't know... He's been so noise the entirety of this morning."

Bluey's quiet, and Moony's complaining?

His sibling's hasty submission forced a small, sly smirk onto the stallion's face.
Oh, Rainbolt... You're so damn easy.

Gotta do this yourself man! Little brothers not always going to be there for you.

You need to learn patients.

Patience, I misspell it all the time.

He opened the cabinet below, only to greeted by a rather large pile of trash, and a scurrying roach.

Kill it with fire! Dude's gonna clean up, real bad.

"When Dash was a foal, I used to use this same brand on her."
"Fascinating..." Moonstruck sarcastically murmured under his breath.

Actually it is.

"Well, he's a little foal, so he doesn't know how to preen yet. Even if you don't fly, there's still a lot of dust and grime that can build up between the feathers. And if you decide not to shower one day, you should still quickly wash your wings off."

That's one reason I prefer bat ponies anyway.

Could his brother really have been more intelligent than he was?

Poor Moonstruck. He's so proud, I really feel bad for him.

"How can you even say that? Mom read your old journal entries and-"
"And that's why she sent me away to living nightmare!"
"She was just trying to help you!" Rainbolt argued his statement almost sympathetically.

Boys? Boys? Boys! There's a child who doesn't need to hear you arguing!

What if I'm the problem...

Knock it off

Heck, eventually you'll end up driving away Rainbow Dash... Probably even Blue Moon."

Madam Author, stahp...

"Okay, good... I love you, Blue!"
For a brief moment, there was nothing but silence. Moonstruck's ears stood erect, trying to listen. It wasn't for a good few seconds that he finally heard the sweet, emotional, "I love you, too" echoing from the hallway.

That's sweet.Why do you make me use so many emoticons?

"Oh, right! You see, he was the one who convinced me to come down here. We were just talking before I..."
Moonstruck trailed off, and his eyes widened in a sudden realization.
Oh, shit!

Oh, Moonstruck, when will you ever learn?
Great chapter! Really good, thank you. The next one will be fluffy slice-of-Rainbow's-life right? Really looking forward to this.

[Pizzema Forte]

5170778 Yeah, he's basically hallucinating, but is convinced it's real until the logic behind it shatters.

5171804 Yeah, the next one will be focused on Rainbow more than any other character. I think it'll be fun to write, but I'm just trying to relax a few days before I start it.

5170731 I'm honestly not sure what he has. I just give him the same symptoms my sister described having, except I made Moonstruck a bit more sadistic. My sister was diagnosed with Bipolar, but I didn't think bipolar patients hallucinated. I'm not sure. They also said they couldn't properly diagnose her because she was so young. So, yeah, I honestly have no clue.

[Captain Moneybags]

A... A n-new chapter?

[TheOneAJ]

Just glad to have you back, Pizzie, before I go into what I liked and didn't, how's life, things getting better?

[Alticron]

I found some things you may want to edit.

Rainbolt took the little, black straps of the foal's chair and strapped them up and above his shoulders, only to click them to the opposite ends of the high-chiar.

That should be "chair".

"I don't know... He's been so noise the entirety of this morning."

That should be "noisy".

Moonstruck saw nothing after hid brother turned around and got to business, but did hear the faint sound of hoofsteps against the tile floor.

That should be "his".

"You need to learn patients. It'll take a few moments."

And that should be "patience".

[Pizzema Forte]

5172848 Umm, yeah, thanks.

5173107 Thanks! I'll be sure to change those!

[TheOneAJ]

5173367 oh, I mean, nvm, great, and well excicuted chapter as always

[Requiem17]

Hooray! Oh shit! Blue Moon!

[heirofaniu]

5171823 Bipolar does NOT cause hallucinations, only severe mood swings.

It sounds like Schizophrenia to me, but I'm just an EMT, not a psychologist.

[RainbowDashFtw42]

5173796 I wasn't saying that his reactions were outlandish, I was just saying the situation got really intense very quickly. In fact, I would probably do something like that too.

[Pizzema Forte]

5174201 I always thought it was schizophrenia myself, but no doctor ever said it was a possibility. Then again, she was never too opened to her doctors, so she may have left significant details out. I'm not sure.

[heirofaniu]

5175210 Fair enough. Like I said, I'm not a brain doctor so my understanding of the human mind is pretty basic.

[The Blessed One]

There are so many twists and turns in this chapter!

First you feel sorry for Moonstruck.
Then you hate him.
Then you feel sorry for him again.
Then back to hate..
Then you think he has potential.
Then he turns his life around.
And the it all ends with him being a new, lovable, crazy and stupid Father.

Great Chapter Pizzama, great chapter.

[Bud Grazer]

5174201
Bipolar disorder can cause delusions and hallucinations, in some cases. There's a documentary called "The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive" that you can find easily on youtube. It's very interesting, if you have a bit of time, you should give it a watch.

[heirofaniu]

5176899 Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't realize that was the case.

[jxj]

5170731
5171823
Based on my admittedly very limited knowledge, I wouldn't say DID as that doesn't cause hallucinations (as far as I know) i'd hesitate to say schizophrenia because it's primarily audio hallucinations, not visual. I'm definitely not a psychologist though, so I could be easily wrong.

[heirofaniu]

5183104 Yeah, we all seem to be in the same boat.

[Boott]

Ok wait.
So that was just a dilution and not an actual time skip, right?

Blue is still a foal and no time past?

[Pizzema Forte]

5183077 It was provably just the reserves or a very low rank. You know, those people that represent some kind of institution that come to your school and talk about their program? That's basically it, and they probably weren't the real deal (considering the "real deal" was spending too much time preparing for their actual show or something.

5183427 Yep, it was just a figment of Moonstruck's mind. Blue Moon's still the cute little foal we all know him for. Either that, or he turns into a time traveler in the future.

[jxj]

5183317
I'm minoring in psych, but i'm focusing more on social psych. I also left my textbook at home, not sure why.

[toxiconym]

and kept a tight grasp on him

Uhuh.
You do that.

[Dawn Flower]

Aaaaaaaand Moon Struck is already a better parent and character than Firefly.

Also:

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Latisha McPeanuts]

Are you done with the whole Moonstruck thing? I honestly don't like him as a character and would like to get back to the actual story of Raising Rainbow.

[ARTL]

It does seem as though Moonstruck is actually trying... Eventually he may see Blue Moon as a pathway to at least partial redemption and be more inclined to care for his son.

Do write more, good Author. As the good folks in the Shakespearean era used to say (thanks to the Doctor), "Author! Author!"

[SuperWabbit]

When is the next part coming out? And please, dont be another moon struck chapter. I never liked him, he is just a waste of this amazing story. Please focus more on the life of rainbow dash

[Pizzema Forte]

5391209 Well, I don't know (Sorry this took so long to respond to, I've been trying to come to a conclusion a lot lately), but as you can see, the story's "On Hiatus". Yes, I will be updating this story (eventually), I will get it finished, but right now, I don't have that much time, I have a commission to work on, ect. For a long while, I was loosing passion for this story, but I've recently regained it and wanted to write it, I just don't think I'll have the time for it.
Oh, and another thing, Moonstruck won't dominate the chapters, but at the end of chapters, they'll be a brief 300-1,000 word update on how he and Sunny are doing with the foal. If you don't care about it, just don't read it. I don't know what else to tell you aside from that.

[SuperWabbit]

5491141 Ok, thanks! Moonstruck is fine in small amounts, but not in chapters based around him

[Ebony Nightwing]

5391209 I like Moonstruck, I think he is an interesting character and he's also an essential part of the story now! Sunny owns the factory that Rainbolt works in, she had a foal that was also Moonstrucks', so he'll have to have even sections of chapters where we see how he deals with Blue with a bit of help from Rainbow and Rainbolt. I, personally, would be quite sad if when this story is off haitus, Moonstruck and Blue play no further part! I thought that these Moonstruck chapters where interesting and they added variation to a story that would continue in a similar way if characters like Moonstruck weren't added. And just 'cause you say you don't like Moonstruck, what about the rest of us? I've just read through the comments, and quite a lot of people like Moony, creating such a changeable and different character can take work and time, so to see Moonstruck not have these little moments in the lime light would be, the way I see it, a waste of well used effort!!!

Wow!! that's the longest comment I've ever written, I feel Proud of myself!!

P.S not that your not allowed your own opinion, but Moonstruck is so far one of my top favorite ponies in this story, and maybe he is for some others I don't know, but please don't take Moonstrucks' well written drop ins away.

[The Blessed One]

5673936 Wiser words have never been spoken!

[Ebony Nightwing]

5676590 Thankyou!! I hope that Superwabbit reads what I told him/her/it... https://www.fimfiction-static.net/images/emoticons/pinkiehappy.png

[Maxxarcade]

Aww man, I thought there was a new chapter :-(

[Pizzema Forte]

5683192 Yeah... I'm really sorry about that. I went to click "edit" and accidentally clicked "publish". I angrily pounded "Unpublish" three or four times in a panic, and it ended up messing things up and publishing it multiple times and then undoing it. I didn't mean to do that, and I'm sorry if I got your hopes up, but at least I'm working on the chapter.
Also, now it's in the featured box when I literally did nothing, so that's always great. Especially considering the fact I was trying as hard as I could not to draw attention to my mistake.

[Core Deep]

5683249
I was so confused when I saw this i the featured box, yet no updates in my library. It just goes to show how hyped we are for this story. Thanks for the info though!

[toxiconym]

You're such a tease.

[One Lucky Gamer]

-__________________________-

[Winter Storm]

5683249 Congrats, your fic is popular enough to be re-featured even when you add zero new content!

[sIDsleeper]

5683249 Well, I'd say that's a hilarious fuck up, but thanks to that I found this story, and stashing it under RIL for consumption when it's done!

[Saris Daddy]

5685695 I do not really get what you mean ? I said my brother was left arround Three months after the birth of his daughter.

[Maxxarcade]

5683249 LOL, I can imagine that "oh shit" look on your face. I'm just glad the story isn't dead :-)

[L1ghtning Rider]

5171823 hey dude I was just wondering how long this hiatus was gonna be. Not trying to be rude, take your time and if it takes forever, I'll wait. I don't wanna pressure you into making the chapters quickly and I know you have your own life believe me I get it. I am an artist myself and I know from experience that some people are impatient. If you could just give me a time like how many days, weeks or months this will take if you have a clear time. If not, that's completely fine. Also just wanna say, keep up the good work. I love your stuff and I'll wait however long you need me to.

[Pizzema Forte]

5707986 To be honest, I've been working on it off and on for the past week or so. I went through a long phase where I absolutely despised this story and didn't want to look at it. Since I recently got over it, I've been considering what to specifically with the concept of the next chapter, and off and on working on the intro. Since I'd like to finish my commission before putting too much effort into this, It'll probably be done in 2-4 months. I know that seems like a really long wait, and I'm sorry for that. It may be out sooner, but this is really just my guess.

[L1ghtning Rider]

5708092 if you don't mind me asking, why did you start hating it? If you don't know or just don't wanna say, that's fine. Also, you take all the time you need. It's your story and you do whatever makes you comfortable.