Ocellus sat on the edge of her bed, eyes constantly darting between the clock and the door. It was 10:02. Sandbar was supposed to be here two minutes ago. Some ponies just didn’t pay attention to being on time, and she couldn’t understand why.
“Come on, Sandbar...” Ocellus spoke, just above a whisper. “Any minute now...”
“I don’t get why you’re so excited about this,” Smolder stated as she walked in, toothbrush still hanging out of her mouth. “Actually, I take it back. It’s for a class assignment. I’d be more concerned if you weren't excited.”
Ocellus waved off the little barb. She was used to Smolder saying things like this to her. It used to stab at her emotions, but she knew quite well by this point that Smolder was just teasing and wasn’t trying to insult her.
“I’m looking forward to the experience, honestly,” Ocellus told her. “And it’s not just because of the good grade I’m sure to get.”
“What other possible good thing could come out of this?” Smolder asked.
“The feeling of accomplishment when Sandbar is finally able to admit his feelings to Yona?” Ocellus retorted. “And knowing that I helped it happen?”
“And what about the other ones?” Smolder asked.
Ocellus gave an innocent grin as she looked down towards the sheet in her hooves. She had expected more than just one signup, of course. It would have been silly not to, and she wasn’t quite sure if helping only two friends would even qualify for the assignment. She had not, however, anticipated just how many signups there would be. It wasn’t enough to be overwhelming, but it was enough to be...whelming? Was that a word? It had to be, logically speaking, but it still felt off. Whether or not it was a word, Ocellus certainly felt whelmed as she looked over the sheet.
“It might be more than I expected, but it’ll still feel just as nice knowing that I might have helped all of them with their crushes,” Ocellus responded. “It really is interesting to see just how many of our classmates have secret crushes. Who would have thought?”
Smolder simply grumbled in response as she returned to the bathroom to put her toothbrush away. Ocellus remained alert in her observance of the clock and door. A little piece of her couldn’t help but feel a tad nervous about the number of classmates who had signed up, but the positives were certainly worth that bit of uncertainty.
“I still think it’s a terrible idea,” Smolder said as she re-entered the room, once again breaking Ocellus from her clock-door loop.
“You keep saying that,” Ocellus said with a sigh. “But you never really give a reason. Why do you think it’s such a bad idea?”
Smolder glared at Ocellus before taking a breath. She opened her mouth to speak, but the only sound that was heard was a knock on the door.
“Oh, that must be Sandbar!” Ocellus exclaimed. She hopped off of the bed, barely able to contain herself.
“Great,” Smolder grumbled. “I got things to do. Later.”
“Later!” Ocellus responded cheerfully. She bounced lightly on her hooves as Smolder opened the door, trudging past Sandbar as he made his entrance.
“Hey, Ocellus!” Sandbar said. “What’s up with Smolder? She didn’t even say hi.”
“Oh, she’s just being grumpy because she thinks this idea of mine for the assignment is bad,” Ocellus replied, closing the door behind her friend.
“Really?” Sandbar asked. “Why?”
“I honestly have no idea,” Ocellus told him. “I’ll have to ask her again later. I mean, I totally disagree, but I should at least find out what’s got her so bothered.”
“Buuuut it can wait until after we’re done, right?” Sandbar asked, smiling eagerly.
“Yup!” Ocellus replied, entertained by just how excited her friend was to move things along. “That’s what we’re here for, after all!”
“Right!” Sandbar confirmed. “Because...uh...don’t tell anypony, but...”
Sandbar’s eyes darted left, then right, then left once more. Despite the fact that they were in a private dorm room and the only other person who might have been here had left upon his arrival, he had to play it safe. Once he was sure they were alone, he whispered, “I have a crush on Yona.”
“You don’t say,” Ocellus replied flatly.
“Really!” Sandbar insisted, oblivious to Ocellus’s sarcastic tone as he sat down on Ocellus’s bed. “I mean, I asked her to the Amity Ball, and that was great, and we’ve gotten closer and stuff, but it’s just been hard to tell her how I really feel about her, you know?”
“It can certainly be hard,” Ocellus agreed. “And that’s why I’m here to help! I think Yona would love to date you, but I get that asking her out can be hard. So let’s get to practicing!”
With those words, a flash of green fire surrounded Ocellus, causing Sandbar to shield his eyes. When he pulled his hoof away from his face, he was greeted with the sight of the yak of his dreams, standing right there before him.
“Sandbar going to say hello to Yona?” Ocellus asked. Her voice was mostly on, but careful listening could discern it from the real thing. Visually, however, she was the spitting image of Yona.
Sandbar’s jaw dropped. It was far from the first time he’d seen Ocellus transform, so he was more than aware of her abilities. Still, he found himself in awe of what had just transpired, and the nerves that often popped up around the real Yona were starting to pop up now too.
“Go on, Sandbar,” Ocellus said, grinning. “Say what you want to say. It’s fine.”
“Heh...right!” Sandbar replied, smiling awkwardly. The pony cleared his throat, then opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“I’ve got an idea,” Ocellus said. “How about we set the scene a bit more? I’ll walk back into the room, we’ll pretend that you’ve just invited Yona to speak in private...if it helps you get into the right mindset better, then let’s do it!” She gave Sandbar a little wink before walking into the bathroom and closing the door.
A few quiet, awkward seconds passed.
“Sandbar open door for Yona?” Ocellus called out.
“Oh! Sure!” Sandbar responded, scurrying over to the bathroom and opening the door. He gave Ocellus the biggest smile as she exited the bathroom.
“Thank you!” Ocellus said. Her walk was more delicate than Yona’s, but other than that, she thought she was playing the part rather well. “So, what Sandbar want talk to Yona about?”
“Heh...” Sandbar began, already off to a stellar start. “Well...you see...”
“Yona see,” Ocellus responded. “Yaks best at seeing!” She giggled, already having too much fun with this. Sandbar laughed as well, and she could see just in his posture that he’d relaxed a bit.
“Yeah, they sure are!” Sandbar said. “But that’s not what I meant.”
“Then what pony mean?” Ocellus asked, giving Sandbar an encouraging smile.
“W-well...” Sandbar began, nervously kicking a hoof against the ground. “You, uhhh...you remember the Amity Ball?”
“Yona remember,” Ocellus responded. “Yona had great time! At least for second half.”
“So did I!” Sandbar exclaimed. “And...uh...well, what I mean to say is...”
“Yona listening,” Ocellus said coyly, having herself a seat. Sandbar took a deep breath, smiling awkwardly at his friend who currently looked like the yak of his dreams.
“I...I think you’re really great,” Sandbar stammered, though a bit of confidence was starting to shine through. “A-and if you want...I’d really like to spend more time with you. Like...just with you. And me. Us. Alone.”
Ocellus bit her lip, successfully saving herself from a chuckle which she was sure would have done some damage to Sandbar’s confidence.
“That’s good, but could use a little work,” Ocellus told him. “Be more confident. Yona knows you, and she likes spending time with you. Don’t overdo it, but make it a little more clear how you feel about her. Think about what she means to you, and don’t say everything that comes to mind because that might be coming on too strong, but let her know what you think of her.” She cleared her throat, then gave Sandbar a smile. “Friend Sandbar want talk to Yona?”
Sandbar nodded a bit, thoughts racing through his head. It took a solid ten seconds before he was able to speak.
“W-well,” Sandbar said. “I was thinking...I really like spending time with you, and you’re always so nice to everycreature, a-and so much fun to be around...”
“Mhm,” Ocellus said, smiling and encouraging her friend along.
“And...you know...” Sandbar continued, perking up a bit. “I’d really like it if we could...you know...go out sometime? Like...what special someponies would do? Because that would really make me happy.”
Ocellus couldn’t help but lick her lips at the tasty love that was emanating from her friend, but she was careful not to let that distract her too much.
“Yona would love that!” Ocellus exclaimed. “Yaks best at being special someponies!” Then she paused. “Oh, um, you might want to go with special somecreature there.”
“Hah...right!” Sandbar agreed. The colt was visibly more upbeat now, even bouncing slightly on the tips of his hooves.
“See? It’s not that hard,” Ocellus said, concentrating and changing back to her own form. “Just think of what she means to you, put it through a reasonable filter, and let the words flow. If I know Yona, she’ll be so happy that you feel that way about her.”
“Thanks, Ocellus!” Sandbar said, rushing forward to give his friend a hug. “I really appreciate the advice! I’m totally gonna ask her out today!”
“Good luck!” Ocellus replied, returning the hug. She took a deep breath, tasting some of that residual love before she let her friend go. It was delicious and pure, as real love tended to be. “I’m rooting for you!”
“Thanks again!” Sandbar said. Then he galloped out of the room, a visible skip in his step.
Ocellus sighed happily, taking a seat on her bed once again. Her mind once again went back to Smolder and her issues with this idea, but she still couldn’t see what Smolder’s issues with it were. If she could make others as happy as she’d made Sandbar, this really was the best idea ever.