//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: Senior (Part 1) // Story: Mother Celestia // by jl7895 //------------------------------// We stood in front of Canterlot High, like we did freshmen year, and took it all in. “Our last first day,” Vinyl said. “It seems like such a long time ago,” Spitfire said. “Do you guys remember when you first met me?” “Three years ago at 3,” Shining said. “Can you believe it, Golden?” Vinyl asked. “This is going to be out last year here.” “I know. Where did the time go?” “What are we waiting for?” Cadence asked. “Time waits for no pony.” We walked in together and got our last schedules for the year. Because I did so well the past three years, I only really needed to take two classes: Language Arts and Economics. The other classes could be whatever I want them to be. My first class was Creative Writing, a class Cadence, Octavia, and I picked at random. The teacher was Mr. Storyteller. She somewhat reminded me of Mrs. Steinbeck, but he likes to write books rather than reading them. He has actually been published multiple times. One of which, The Fault in Our Stars, is one of my favorite books. He is laid back and enjoys a quick whited joke. My next class with Economics, which was the only class I had with Shining. The class was taught by Mr. Commence. On the first day, he promised that no pony will fail his class. He told us that so long as we showed up, did our homework, and took good notes, we barley have to try. From what I heard from members of the Hoofball team, he was the easiest Economics teacher to get because you never really have to worry about his class. My third class was a Manners and Ethics class, where we look at different moral choices and how they change depending where you are in the world. I was happy to see both Octavia and Spitfire. The class itself was pretty fun, as the teacher put us in into situations where you didn’t have time to think and had to go off our first thought. I was happy that Octavia and I got Mrs. Steinbeck again for Advanced Literature. It was also the only class I had with Angel. I was glad that things ended on a positive note with us and we could still be friends. Mrs. Steinbeck was excited to see us again and promised us that we were going to have a great year. We found out that Cadence and Spitfire got Mr. Steinbeck during the same period. I personally thought it was going to be fun because the two classes will make poems insulting the other class and see who had the best poem of the year. What really made me happy, however, was that I was able to TA for Mrs. Steinbeck. And of course, I ended the day with Hoofball. Spitfire and I were named captains again and we decided to start try-outs ASAP. We were surprised by the some of the sophomores who brought their game. Unfortunately for them, the returning players were just a little better and only one sophomore made it to the varsity team. The rest of the day was pretty normal. The six of us hanging around Canterlot, Octavia and I annoying Vinyl, mares asking me out every hour on the hour, going to dinner. For once, it seemed as if I was going to have a relatively normal school year, until Shining’s name was called into the front office during second period a week into the school year. None of us saw him until the second half of lunch. “What happened?” Cadence asked immediately. “You know that student exchange thing that the school does?” “Yeah,” I said know what was coming next. “I’m going to Applewood.” “What?” Vinyl said, “Why you?” “It was randomly decided. It really could have been anypony. I’m just wondering why it wasn’t anypony.” “How long are you going to be gone?” Spitfire asked. “Just the first semester. I’ll be back for Heart’s Warming. I’m going to miss you guys.” “No!” Cadence said. “I’ll talk to Auntie Celestia. If anypony can make you stay, it’s her.” “Cadence, don’t. It’s only going to be three months and I’ll write to you every day.” “But, I need you here. I need my Knight in Shining Armor.” “I know, and I need you too, but I think I need this. I mean, when do I really get the chance to see Applewood?” “Your parents can’t be okay with this.” Cadence said. “Actually they want me to go. They showed up at the front office to congratulate me. I’m leaving on Saturday.” Cadence continued to try and convince him not to leave, but Shining has always been set in his ways. She even tried to convince Celestia to use some of her influence to make him stay. To her misfortune, Celestia also thought this would be good for him. Saturday eventually came and we gathered on the castle’s landing area to say our goodbyes to Shining. “Hey, Twily,” He said to Twilight. “I’m going to be gone for a while and I’m going to miss you like crazy. I promise that I’ll write to you every day.” “But what if I need you?” “I want you to go to Cadence or Golden. They’ll take care of you.” “Okay. I love you Shining,” Twilight said as she hugged him. “I love you too, Twily,” He said while hugging her back. When they let go, he moved over to Vinyl. “Look out for Golden. He can be a handful,” he said jokingly. “Like I don’t know.” “I’m standing right here,” I said, but they ignored me and hugged. “Don’t you dare lose a single game,” He said to Spitfire. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” She said and they too hugged. “Are you sure you still want to go?” Cadence asked when he reached her. “This is your last chance.” “I’m sorry Cadence, but I have to. When will I ever get the chance to do this again? But I’ going to miss you so much.” “I going to miss you too. I love you.” “I love you too and I want you to remember that I always will.” They kissed and then he moved onto me. He didn’t say anything at first, he just extended his hand. I took it and he pulled me close and patted each other’s backs. “Look after Cadence,” he whispered to me. “She’ll be fine without you,” I whispered back. “You know that’s not what I meant.” We backed off from each other and he said his goodbyes to his parents. He finally boarded his carriage and he was off. We waited until we couldn’t see the carriage anymore. It really wasn’t the same without Shining. We still did all the things we normally did, but it felt like something was missing. We tried not to think about it and started to count down the days until he came back. Twilight spent a little more time with Cadence, but I think that was just to fill the space Shining left. He did keep his word and wrote to both Cadence and Twilight every day. He ended up living with Star Darling while he was there and attended the same school. She was happy enough to show him around and introduce him to her friends. He sent pictures of him near the Applewood sign and The Fame Walk. While it was nice to see him enjoy himself, but I would rather have him here. It was mainly because of what he asked me to do. Cadence knows how beautiful she is. She tries her best to avoid attention by dressing concretively and wearing a minimal amount of make-up. Regardless of how hard she tried, there was at least one colt that would make some comment of how good she looked. Most of them were really just about how much they would have sex. Usually it was just one freshman or sophomore, but more and more colts have been talking since Shining left. I tried my best to tell them to shut up or intimidate them when I’m around Cadence. I tried my best to make it look like I wasn’t scaring off colts. To make matters worse, Octavia asked me to do the same for her. Over the two months since shining left, Octavia had another concert. She had to get a new dress designer because her old one was working on costumes for a Manhattan play. Her new designer got the measurements wrong and the dress ended up being a little too small. With no time for a new one, Octavia had to squeeze into the dress. The concert itself was spectacular, but that’s not what everypony, or at least every teenage colt, was talking about the next day. The dress showed too much cleavage and barley covered her flank. While the reviews were universally positive, Octavia was mortified by the attention she was getting. She asked me to scare away any colts who were coming up to her and making dirty jokes. She didn’t ask me to pretend to be dating again, she just wanted somepony who could scare off the riff-raff One day during lunch, I had to go to my locker to get put away my books. Octavia felt more comfortable if she came with me and Cadence decided to go for the hell of it. When we got there, Cadence realized that she wanted to ask Mr. Steinbeck a question and his class was just down the hall. Octavia also realized that she left her bag with Spitfire and Vinyl and needed it because it had something personal in it. She didn’t wait for me to finish and ran back to our friends. “Man, did you see that ass?” Some colt said to his friends. “I would play her like a fiddle. Then I’m gonna take her bow and stick it in her.” “That’s nothing,” one of his friends said. “What about those royal twins on that mare that walked by. I just want to stick my dick between them.” “Shut up.” I said to them. “Excuse me?” One of them said. “Did we ask you to talk to us?” “Hey, you’re that prince guy. I get it now, you’re banging both of them. Just answer one question, you doing them at the same time or do they even know about each other?” “I said shut up.” “Wait, you just broke up with that new chick and that bitch is going out with the quarterback. I guess that means you giving it to her without him knowing.” Calling Cadence a bitch was the last straw. Without thinking, I slammed my locker shut and slammed him against a wall. “Listen you little punk. You’re not going to talk about Princess Cadence or Octavia Melody again. And I swear, I hear you call anypony a bitch again, I will make you swallow your teeth.” “Golden!” Cadence yelled when she saw me holding this colt against the wall. She looked angrier than ever before. “Put him down right now!” I wordlessly obeyed and backed off. She then grabbed my arm with a grip harder than I’ve ever felt and dragged me to Mr. Steinbeck’s room. I heard the colts laughing and making whip noises. In retaliation, Cadence hit one of them with a very small energy blast. “Mr. Steinbeck,” She said as she opened the door, “can we please have a moment?” “Sure, Cadence. I have to make some copies anyway.” He got up from his desk and patted me on the shoulder, “Hell hath no fury like a mare scorned.” He said to me before he left the room. “What do you think you were doing?” She said. “Standing up for my friends.” “By hurting other ponies?” “You didn’t hear what they said about you and Octavia.” “Really what did they say?” “One of them said they wanted to dick between your boobs.” “So what? Colts are always talking about how they want to sleep with me. What makes these ponies so special?” “Because Shining asked me to look after you.” “What?” “Before he left, Shining asked me to look after you and keep creeps like that off your back.” “I can take care of myself, Golden.” “No offence, Cadence, but you can’t. You don’t hear all the nasty things colts say they want to do with you when you’re not around. Those that know better won’t say anything around Shining or me, but it’s been a free for all since he left.” “So, you’re saying that I’m a damsel in distress? Somepony who needs another pony to catch her when she faints?” “I didn’t say that. Look, you just need somepony to help you.” “And you think that should be you. Who says I need your help?” “Because you’re not doing anything. All you do is shrug it off like nothing happened when it should bug you.” “That’s because I know who I love and I don’t let anypony change that.” “Oh yeah, because you’re such the expert in love.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “First you tried to push me and Octavia together, but you couldn’t get the hint that we just want to be friends. Then you were sure that Angel and I were made for each other, and look how that turned out. Cadence, you gave to stop trying to influence my love life.” “That’s because I want you to be happy.” “Then let me live my life. The best relationships I’ve ever had, you haven’t been a part of.” “Name some.” “I still write to Lavender and I get so excited to get her letters. And every so often, I get something from the twins that makes me smile. Not only that, but when I feel down, I think about Star Darling’s smile. Refresh my memory, which one did you want me to be with?” “That’s because you couldn’t see what was best for you.” “And you did?” “You were madly in love with Angel. I thought that staying with her would make her the most happy, but no you just had to kiss somepony you knew for a few days.” “Well, I’m not the control freak. Everything we do, everything we say, even the ponies we hang out with have to be approved by you. Do you know what it’s like to have somepony plan out you day every day? I feel like I’m six, Cadence.” “Oh yeah, at least I have some impulse control. I don’t go around attacking ponies that cross me and kissing those who make me feel happy. I know where a line is and I can control myself.” “That’s because I let the world in. I take in everything and make a decision based off my environment. I don’t have to wait and calculate all the possible outcomes, and look where that’s got me. I’m captain of the Hoofball team, Mrs. Steinbeck’s favorite student, and a prince.” “At least I was born into my title and not adopted.” Cadence covered her mouth when she realized what she said. We were both shocked that she said that and stopped fighting. I could see how sorry she was in her eyes. They were watering and was about to cry from just that. At the same time, I’m a little glad that she said it. I feel like almost everything was aired out and now I feel closer to her than ever. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I’m so glad that Auntie Celestia found you.” “You know what Cadence, you are right. I have low impulse control. I like to follow my heart. Right now, my heart is telling me to do this.” I grabbed Cadence, held her close to me, and kissed her. I kissed her more passionately than I ever kissed another pony. There was a little resistance at first, but she went along with it when she realized what was happening. When she did, wrapped her arms around me and pulled me closer to her. Before I knew it, our horns were glowing and her wings were extended. “I should remind you that you’re adopted more often,” She said after we pulled away. “Don’t you feel bad about what we just did?” “Honestly, no. Golden, do you remember when I got my cutie mark?” “How it just appeared overnight?” “I wasn’t telling you the truth. What you said to me that night, how I was a one in a million pony, I realized that I loved you. I realized that nothing would make me happier than for us to be together. I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way, so I tried to get over you by dating Shining. I was trying to convince myself that I loved him, and I was starting to believe it, until he left.So, now what?” “I imagined that we start going out.” “It’s not that simple. I’m still with Shining.” “You can break up with him.” “You don’t understand, he love me as much as you do. If I told him that I wanted to leave him, not only that but I want to leave him for his best friend, he would be crushed.” “He’s a grown colt, he’ll live.” “Do you really not care about him?” “I care about us. He would be crushed and probably get depressed, but I can’t break up with him over a letter. I at least owe him that. Until them, we can’t tell anypony. Not Octavia, not Vinyl, not Auntie Celestia, no pony can know about this.” “Agreed. Who knows how ponies would react.” We made sure that we looked the same as when we came into the room. Once we were sure that everything was perfect, we went back to our friends. We made up a story of how I stood up to those punks for Octavia and Cadence’s sake. Luckily, they bought it and didn’t expect a thing. We went all day without anypony thinking that anything happened between us. We even made sure not to give any conspicuous signs of our attraction. When dinner ended, I walked Cadence back to her room. “Isn’t this exciting, Golden?” She said as she rested her head against my arm. “I don’t know. I’m actually a little scared. What if somepony finds out?” “They’re going to find out eventually, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” We reached her room and I kissed her goodnight. I walked to my room, feeling a mixture of fear and pleasure. On one hand, Cadence is the perfect pony. She is, however, my best friend’s mare friend and I feel like a complete douche. I tried to focus on the former and went to bed happy. “Hey,” Cadence said as she poked her head into my room before I could fall asleep. “What’s wrong?” I asked as she came all the way in. She made sure to close the door as quietly as she could so she wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention. “I can’t sleep. Can I please sleep in here tonight? Please Golden. I need somepony to hold me.” “You know you’re always welcome here.” I said as I invited her to my bed. She gave me the cutest smile ever and then got under the blanket. I cuddled up next to her and tried to fall asleep. She went to sleep almost immediately. She looked so cute and peaceful sleeping with a messy mane. This went on for a few weeks and it was somewhat the same. One of us would sneak into the other’s room and sleep in there. She would always fall asleep first and I would always watch her. In the morning, the guest would sneak back to their room to make sure no pony caught on. It was surprisingly easy to sneak around with Cadence. We made sure not to break our routine around anypony. We talked about her relationship with Shining and we agreed that we wouldn’t say anything until he came back. She was going to be forward with him and tell her feeling about her. Everything seemed to be perfect until one morning. Cadence slept in my room the night before. I woke up first and tried to wake her up when I realized what time it was. “You have to go before somepony catches us.” “Kicking me out? Do you treat every mare like this?” She said while getting out of the bed. She left my room as quietly as she could, making sure that the door didn’t even squeak. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t. I decided to take a shower and get ready for the day. I got dressed after my shower and picked up a book. As I was about to start to read a story by T.K. Lovecraft when somepony knocked on my door. I saw Cadence on the other side, still with a messy mane and wearing the same bra and panties. She threw her arms around my neck and pulled me into a kiss. She walked me into my room and kicked the door closed behind her. “I want you, right now,” She said. There was something off about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. “We can’t. What if some pony catches us?” “I don’t care. I need you.” I knew something was wrong and I know just what to do. “Alright,” I said with a devilish grin, “but I want to try something. Put your hands behind your back.” To my surprise, she listened to me. I casted a spell with bound her hands together. There was nothing that could break that spell and she would be putty in my hands. “Kinky,” she said. “Lie down,” I ordered as I started to undo and pull down my down my pants. She again obeyed and I used the same spell to bind her hooves together. “Oh no,” She said as if she was a little girl, “Please Golden, I’m just a little innocent pony.” “Are you ready for this?” “No, please don’t stick your thingy in my mouth.” “You don’t have to worry about that because I want to know where my friend is,” I said and pulled my pants back up. “What? Golden, it’s me. Cady.” “There’s only one pony that calls Cadence ‘Cady’ and that’s her brother. Where is she?” “Clever one, aren’t you? I’ll make you a deal. You fuck me right now and I’ll tell you where she is.” “How about this: You tell me where she is, and I won’t break your hands and hooves.” “Is it because I look like her? What I changed to that Lavender girl?” Cadence was suddenly surrounded by green light and started to change shape. When the light faded, Cadence was replaced by Lavender. “So, how about it? Now do you want to fuck me?” “How do you know about her?” “I’ve been watching you since that whole things your mom made you do last summer.” “What are you?” “Whatever you want me to be? What about that Octavia slut?” Once again, she was surrounded by green light, and Octavia, or what looked like Octavia, was there. I was glad to see that my spell was holding up, which meant that I had complete control over her. “First: Never call Octavia a slut.” “Or else what? Octavia is a-” I used the spell to tighten the spell around its hands and hooves. The spell I used was originally used to hold things like broken pipes together, but has recently been used to replace handcuffs. It’s been a bit controversial because it has the potential to be tighten to the point where it breaks every bone in their hands. Lucky for it, I had no intentions of going that far. “Second: You’re going to tell what the hell you are.” “Are you sure? I don’t think you’re going to like me in my true form.” “Do it.” It was surrounded by a green light again. When it faded, there was this black bug with holes in its arms and legs.” “What are you?” “You’ve never seen a Changeling before? Oh, and don’t worry, it was her last night, but I’m surprised that you haven’t fucked yet.” “Where is she? What did you do to her?” “She’s fine in her room.” I left her in it bound in my room and I ran over to help Cadence. I found her stuck to her bed and covered in some green goo. Thankfully, it didn’t undress her or anything. She looked scared when she saw me, but looked calmer when I let freed her. “I was so scared, Golden,” She said as she threw her arms around me. “It came to me as Shining and when I figured out that it wasn’t him, it did that to me. Then it changed into me and said that it was going after you. We have to find it.” “Don’t worry. I tricked it in my room. I have to get Captain Iron Side so he can take it away, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.” “Okay, but please hurry.” I found Captain Iron Side while he was patrolling his normal route. I told him what happened, leaving out the intimacy between me and Cadence and saying that it was Octavia the entire time. He took the Changeling to a holding cell. I went back to Cadence to make sure she was okay. She was still shaking a bit, so I sat next to her and hugged her. Something had changed between us. I didn’t see her as a mare that I want, but as somepony I want to make happy. The attraction I had towards her was almost completely gone and all that was left was somepony that I deeply cared for. “We have to talk. Listen, last night was great and I’m over the moon that you were the first pony I loved and the reason I got my cutie mark, but…” “You don’t see me the same way as before.” “Are you mad?” “No, because I feel that way too.” “I’m sorry Golden. I’ll always love you, but not the same way. Maybe if we got together before I was with Shining, than all of this will be different. I loved you as a filly, and she will always be a part of me, but I have to look forward and all I see is me with Shining.” “It’s fine, Cadence. All I really want is to see you happy. I thought that I had to do it, that I have to make you happy. Now that I know that it’s not me, I’m just glad to see that it’s going to be Shining.” We talked about what happened and agreed that it only transformed Lavender and I decided to keep the Octavia thing to myself. We hugged and went about our day. It was surprisingly easy to get back to normal with Cadence. As far as I could tell, I Cadence no longer had any feelings for me, and I have actually started to look at other mares. It wasn’t anything to serious, mainly smiling back when a shy mare smiles at me, but I feel as if I have no attraction to Cadence at all. Word quickly spread around Canterlot of the Changeling “attack”. Ponies started to worry that their loved ones were being replaced by Changelings. Ponies started to demand a response from Celestia, which she promised to talk with the Queen of the Changelings when she comes to pick up her prisoner. It took a few weeks, but a meeting date was set and ponies were picked to attend the meeting. Terms were eventually reached between ponies and Changelings. New laws were passed and a new procedure was created if a Changeling was to visit Equestria. First, a Changeling is to request a visa. If it is approved, then an artist will send them a drawing of a pony they may transform into while visiting. If they are reveled to be Changeling and they do not have a visa or they do not match their drawing, Equestrian officials have the right to arrest it and put it through a trial. I didn’t really pay attention to the new laws, as they didn’t really affect me. I was more concerned with my friends. Specifically, the fact that Shining was coming back soon. We planned a small party that was just us, Twilight, and Soarn’. The first thing he did when he came back was hugged Cadence and Twilight, but that was because they were the most excited to see him. He told us stories of him and Star and we told him about what happened here. He was concerned about Cadence, but was happy to see that I was there for her. He spent the night with Cadence that night and it would have been a romantic, if Shining wasn’t uncomfortably loud. He wasn’t so loud that you could hear him throughout the castle, but my room was just barley close enough to hear him. Cadence was the happiest I’ve ever seen her and I was happy for her. Everything seemed to go back to normal over the next few months. Cadence and Shining were spending all their time together, Octavia and I annoyed Vinyl, out Hoofball team made it to play-offs. It was turning out to be a great senior year and things were about to get better. It was a Thursday and we were hanging out at the café after school. Octavia ran off saying that she had to meet somepony and would catch up with us later. She came running up to us with a big smile about an hour and a half later. “You guys, I have some big news. I’ve been booked to play in Applewood during spring break. The best part is that you’re all invited.” “Sorry Octavia,” Spitfire said, “but I’m visiting family in Cloudsdale.” “You know I would be there for you Octavia, but my mom says that the family is ‘drifting apart’ and she wants me to spend more time with her,” Vinyl said. “I’m really sorry, but I’ve had enough of Applewood. Besides, I want to spend some time in Canterlot.” “Princess Celestia wants to show me what it really means to be a princess. I’m sorry Octavia.” “Well you know I’ll be there,” I said. This made Octavia smile even more than she was before, “Thanks Golden,” she said as she hugged me, “I knew I could count on you. We leave on Saturday” I asked Celestia that night, just to be sure it was okay. She was a little hesitant at first, but she realized that I wasn’t a foal anymore and she let me go. I couldn’t concentrate on Friday, lucky for me most of my teachers decided to take the day to relax. I could hardly eat or sleep that night. I was excited because this was going to be my first time out of Canterlot, excluding Ponyville and the Everfree Forrest. I woke up early the next morning to pack. By the time I finished packing, it was time to leave. I had somepony to take my stuff to the train station and I walked over to Octavia’s house with another pony to help with her bags. From there, Octavia, the two ponies with our bags, and I walked to the train station. Unfortunately there wasn’t anypony to see us off. Spitfire left the last night, but we did say our goodbyes. Vinyl and Shining were going to meet us, but they was probably sleeping in. Cadence and Celestia decided to get an early start with Cadence’s training and that unfortunately meant attending a meeting at the same time our train was leaving. Octavia’s parents were the only ponies to see us off. Her father was a little hesitant to let his daughter go off with a colt, but he knew me and was easier to convince than we initially thought. To be safe, we discreetly said our goodbyes last night. Octavia and I boarded the train, which was a private car paid for by the Walt Trotney Corporation. Walt Trotney was a household name and held a market in almost everything. Form theme parks to toothbrushes, animated movies to plush toys. Someponies would say that their greatest contribution was the Walt Trotney Concert Hall, where Octavia is going to play. It’s notable for a strange structure, but the interior was something that had to be seen. The car itself was luxurious. There was a bar, but all the alcohol was replaced by non-alcoholic drinks and a few things to make smoothies. There was a lounge area with three chairs and a couch. Across form the bar was a small card table and a platter set out for us with sparkling apple cider. Finally, there was a sleeping area, which was a room in itself, and a bathroom attached to that. “This is amazing,” Octavia said. “I guess they really want you to come back.” The train suddenly started to move, which caught Octavia off guard. Out of instinct, she put her hands on my chest for support. She retreated the second she regained her footing and started to blush. “I want to show you something,” she said, hoping I didn’t notice her slightly red cheeks. “Just let me freshen up.” She went the sleeping area to get ready for something. I wasn’t really sure what she meant, but I couldn’t stop her. I popped the cork on the cider and poured two glasses. I waited on the couch for her thinking of all the possibilities that could happen when she walked through the door. My fear was that she was going to come out either in lingerie or completely naked, saying how her wants to take things to the next level. “Are you ready?” “Do I have a choice?” “What do you think?” she asked as she came out wearing her dress for the concert and carrying her cello. “Wow, you look beautiful,” I said as I handed her a glass of cider. It was a black dress that covered most of her body. The dress was kept up in two by two studded straps that create a V shape in between her breasts. The straps went continued to the back and made a triple figure eight pattern. The final piece of the outfit was my bowtie around her arm. “Really, you don’t think the studded straps are too much.” “No, they bring out your eyes.” “I just thought that we were in for a long ride, so I thought that I would do a little modeling and entertain us.” We took a seat across from each other and she started to play. She mainly did a cello rendition of current pop songs. If you ask me, she did a much better job. She changed back into the clothes she was wearing when we got on the train and we talked until the train pulled into the station. We were told to leave our bags on the train and somepony from the hotel will come and get them. The train ride took all day and we decided to just go to the hotel. The Trotney Company paid for a personal chauffer to take us there. By the time we reached the hotel, checked in, and rode the elevator up to our room, we were pretty tired. We were surprised to see that the elevator took us straight to our room. In retrospect, we should have seen it coming when we needed our room key to use the elevator. Our jaws dropped as it opened to our room. It was more of a suite or a villa, but was not just a room. It opened to a living room which was mainly a sitting area around a film projector, a screen, and a few reels of both classic and modern movies. The walls had some pictures of famous ponies that stayed here. There was a kitchen, with modern appliances, and a breakfast bar. There were two bedrooms that mirrored each other, but they both had the same things. There was a queen sized bed, a dresser, two end tables on either side of the bed, a balcony, and a bathroom attached to each. We figured out which room was which based off gift baskets on the bed. We also found that our clothes were already put in the dresser and my books were stacked on one of the end tables. I wasn’t too tired, so I took a shower before I went to bed. I was about to fall asleep, but there was suddenly a knock on my door. I got up to open it to find Octavia on the other side looking worried. “I can’t sleep, Golden,” She said almost immediately. “I already miss home and I just need something to remind me of Canterlot. Can I please sleep with you tonight?” “Yeah, sure.” I heisted a little because I was a little afraid. Mainly afraid of her wanting more out of me than just somepony to help her sleep. She climbed into one side of my bed and I climbed into the other. I tried to stay on one side of the bed, even sleeping on my side to make sure there was plenty of space between us. Octavia had other ideas. She started to get close to me and eventually grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. “What are you doing?” I said as I sat up. “Alright Golden,” she said as she sat up with me, “I think it’s obvious that I like you on some level. The only problem is that I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way, but I knew that you always liked somewhere deep down in your heart. There was always something in the way. It could have been Angel or our friends or your title, but not here. It’s just you and me.” “Look, you’re an amazing pony and anypony would be lucky to have you, but we can’t. We’re too close of friends and there is nothing I value more than what we have. But...” “But what?” “But…” “You know, you haven’t let go of my hand.” I looked down to see that she was right. We were still holding hands and I had done nothing to let go or stop her. Truth be told, I was actually enjoying it and I didn’t want it to stop. Before I knew it, we were leaning towards each other. There was another knock on my door and I shot up from my bed. “Golden, it’s time to get up,” Octavia said from the other side of the door. I looked over to the other side of the bed. It looked untouched. It was all just a dream. I was glad that it was all in my head. Octavia and I have a special relationship that I would hate to ruin. I would rather have her as a friend than a lover. If that was true then why is my heart racing. “Come on Golden. I ordered us breakfast and it’s going to be here any minute.” “I’m up,” I shouted back. I got out of bed, got dressed, and brushed my teeth. By the time I was done, the food had come. I only wish that I waited on brushing before I ate. “Good crêpes,” Octavia said about half way through the meal. “Chef Celery Stalk’s are better. So, what’s the plan for today?” “We have a few options. We could go to Galaxy Studios or we could get our shopping out of the way. I heard that there are some amazing museums in downtown Applewood. Oh, the Trotney Company said that they would pay for us to see a show at the Ponytages. A show called Twisted is playing there.” “Whatever you want to do. It’s you’re week, you’re the star.” “You know this is nice. Just us enjoying each other’s company.” “I like it too. It’s very peaceful.” “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” “What is it?” “Vinyl and I have been talking and we want to get our own place after High School. We have money between us to find a nice apartment, but it has three rooms and you know I hate it when things go to waste. I was hoping that you would move in with us. I understand if you don’t want to. I mean, you’re living in a beautiful castle and who would want to give that up? Plus there’s-” “I would love to,” I said before she could say anything else. “Thanks. We should probably get going.” The rest of the week was so much fun. It would always start with Octavia waking me up and telling me that she ordered my breakfast. She always knew what I liked, but I would always tell her that Chef Celery Stalk made it better. We made it through her list of things to do in Applewood, and we enjoyed all of it. It didn’t matter if we were at the Galaxy Studios Theme Park, shopping for gifts to bring to our friends and families, or seeing Twisted, we had fun. We ate at a five star restaurant. I couldn’t lie to her this time, the food was a real competition for Chef Celery Stalk. We would then head back to the hotel and watch a movie. There was something unique about Thursday night. I didn’t know if she felt it too. In fact, I’m almost positive that she didn’t because she was sleeping, but I felt something between us. She fell asleep while we were watching Love Really with her head in my lap. This wasn’t a new thing. Even when we had movie nights with our friends, she would rest her head on me. I would pet her head out of a need for my hands to do something and this time was no different. I brushed a strand of her mane that didn’t fall when she turned from her side to her back. Watching her sleep, there was something incredibly peaceful about her sleeping. You could just watch her and all of your problems will melt away and you will feel like they never existed. There was this venerable state about her when she slept and she trusted me to support her and…oh my god, I’m falling for her. I can’t, I just can’t. She’s too good of a friend and she doesn’t like me that way. I don’t want to lose her, and my relationship record says that I will. I’ll just cheat on her or say that I’m not the one for her. After that, we can never go back to just being friends. At the same time, something just feels right. I suddenly heard Vinyl’s voice in my head. She’s playing a bigger game and she wins when she can call you hers. That’s all this is. She probably didn’t expect it to be just us here, but she took advantage of it. I just had to keep reminding myself of that. That’s what she wants. She wants us to be together, but we can’t. I decided to call it a day and go to bed. I carried Octavia to her room and put her under the covers. There was something screaming in me saying get in the bed with her, but I had to remember that it was just a part of her plan. I walked over to my room and went to bed. Octavia didn’t wake me up the next day. I found a note in the living room saying that she had to go to the concert hall and practice for tomorrow. She told me to enjoy myself today and she would meet me for dinner. I thought about what I could possibly do today and then I remember something. Star Darling lives in Applewood and I have her address from a letter she sent. Why not spend the day with her? It would at least get my mind off of Octavia. I went to the lobby and asked the pony working behind the desk to get me a taxi. I eventually made it to Star’s house. I was a little nervous. I haven’t seen her since that whole fiasco and we left off on great terms. I walked up to her door and knocked. I heard a pony come down a set of stairs and open the door. “Prince Golden,” Star said as she opened the door. “Surprise.” She started to smile and then hugged me. “What are you doing here?” “Octavia is playing at the Trotney Concert Hall. I came down here to support her.” “So, shouldn’t you be spending time with her? I mean, it’s not like I’m glad that you’re here.” “She’s busy practicing today, so I thought that I would spend the day with you.” “For sure, just let me do something.” I waited outside until she came back with a jacket. She decided to show me around Applewood Boulevard. We watched some street performers and tried to avoid the crazy ones. After, we walked down the Fame Walk and tried to find our favorite celebrities. After, we went to an ice cream parlor owned by, who else, the Trotney Company. She said she wanted to take me here for a surprise. After a little while of waiting, Ruby and Sapphire showed up. “We thought you were joking,” Ruby said with a smile. “We weren’t going to show up,” Sapphire said. “Here I am.” “And we have one more surprise for you.” “Hi Golden,” Lavender said. I stood up to hug the three of them and I ordered them their own ice cream. This was exactly what I needed to get my mind off of Octavia. We started to catch up with each other. It turns out that they’ve been living in Applewood together all their lives, but went to different schools. Ruby and Sapphire ran into Star here and then Lavender only recently. The four of them have become great friends. “So, we were standing there,” Sapphire started to say. “There was a colt calling her Ruby,” Ruby picked up. “And another colt calling her Ruby,” “And then they said at the same time ‘Who slipped what into my drink?’” They said together. “Looks like I haven’t missed anything.” “I wouldn’t say that,” Lavender said. “Shut up, Vyxsin,” Star said. “Well I think somepony should tell him.” “Tell me what?” “Well we’re not afraid,” Sapphire said. “We found somepony,” Ruby said. “Well, Someponies. We met another set of identical twins and we really hit it off.” “We can still be friends, right?” “Yeah, no problem. Is it fair to guess that you two have coltfriends?” “He’s a real nice guy,” Star said. “You should meet him. I think the two of you would get along.” “Well not me. I’m saving myself for somepony special,” Lavender said while giving me a saucy wink. “Please,” Ruby said, “We all know you were going to pick her. Why don’t you two screw and get it over with.” “Don’t tempt me,” Lavender said. This couldn’t be more perfect. I just need one truly romantic kiss with her and then I’ll be done with Octavia. We spent a little more time at the parlor before walking around a bit more. Ruby, Sapphire, and Star had to leave when it go late, but Lavender had made plans to stay with me as long as I like. I invited her to dinner. I wasn’t sure how Octavia would react when she saw her, but I didn’t care. All I really cared about was us staying friends. Dinner that night was just a casual dinner in Galaxy Studios Town Walk. When we arrived, the maitre d' told us that Octavia sent a message saying that practice is running long and she would not be able to make it. Perfect. The two of us had fun by ourselves, even doing a little more shopping. After we went back to the hotel to watch a movie. We watched a movie called Jenny Hall. She was using my arm as a head rest which I didn’t mind. “I love this,” she said about a third of the way through the movie. “Me too.” “How often did you think about me? I thought of you all the time.” “Everyday.” “Is everything alright? You seem distracted.” “I’ve been thinking about something.” “Care to share?” “It’s nothing. Just this.” I sat her up and turned her towards me. We looked at each other and started to lean in. Our lips were so close that I could feel her breath. I could smell her perfume and it was alluring. The only problem is that I couldn’t go any further. “I’m sorry. I just can’t.” “I knew it.” She got up and started to make her way to the elevator. The weird thing was that she didn’t seem mad or upset. If anything, she seems happy for me. “I hope you two are happy together.” Just then the elevators doors opened. “Oh,” Octavia said as she was surprised to see Lavender, “Lavender. It’s great to see you. What are you doing here?” “Just seeing a friend.” She got in the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor. “Good luck tomorrow.” Soon she was gone and I knew that there was no fighting it. Jenny Hall was one of Octavia’s favorite movies, so we restarted it. She laid her head in my lap and I started to pet her head, as usual. We went to our separate rooms after the movie ended. I was starting to kick myself for not trying anything, but I started to get the idea that maybe she didn’t like me and just really trusted me. For god sake, we’ve been alone together for six nights and nothing. I was about to fall asleep when there was a knock on my door. I jumped out of bed to answer it, knowing that Octavia was on the other side. “I’m too nervous about tomorrow,” she said the second I opened the door. “Well that and I’m homesick. Can I please sleep with you? I don’t mean sleep with you, sleep with you. I mean can we share a bed, but not like that I mean…Can you please say ‘yes’ before I embarrass myself even more?” “Of course.” She got into one side of the bed and I got into the other. I didn’t try to stay away from her this time. It didn’t take long for her to grab my hand and interlock our fingers. I didn’t question it, I just fell asleep with a smile on my face.