Friendship is Failure #21: Is it Love?

by DakariKingMykan

Act 4: Tales of Unrequited Love

ACT FOUR

Strings was soon resting in a hospital room, hooked up to life-support and everything. He was stable now, but he was unconscious after what he had been through.

Rainbow explained, “The doctor said he had cardiogenic shock-- pretty much a heart attack. He’ll be fine, but the doc recommended he stay in the hospital for a few days, so he won’t be able to perform at the gala.”

Everyone stared at him, so silent and still in his bed.

“Poor Strings…” wept Fluttershy.

“The poor dear,” added Rarity “I never thought it was possible to go into such shock.”

“I don’t think I can blame him.” said Applejack. She said nothing more. The entire gang was sworn to secrecy about what happened between Strings and Cadance, and the only other ponies who knew were the hospital staff, and they promised to keep it confidential, especially when they learned of the conditions that led to things.

Sun didn’t know it was possible to feel this ashamed. “Princess Cadance and Spike… are they okay?” she asked.

Twilight nodded, “Luckily, that potion you gave them had a special effect. If they stopped paying attention to their so-called “Sweet-hearts” it wears off.”

At that moment, Cadance and Spike both came groping and groaning into the room.

“Talk about headache.” said Spike.

Cadance rubbed her eyes and asked “What happened? What are we all doing here in the hospital?”

Then she saw Strings lying unconscious in bed. “Was there an accident?”

Everyone felt awkward and knew they would have to explain things, but almost all of them fell too embarrassed to say.

“Well, you see…” Pinkie said, and then she took a huge breath and went off on one of her fast forwarded descriptions.

“Sun told us that she mixed up a love potion she had intended to give to Strings to make Strings fall in love with her, but the milkshakes at the restaurant got mixed up and so you and Spike ended up taking the potion instead, and you each fell in love with the first pony you saw which so happened ot be Twilight and Strings, and so you both acted like obsessed love zombies, and now you’re all better.”

Cadance and Spike were both wide-eyed in shock.

“Love Potion?!” they both exclaimed, and they both had remembered Spike’s milkshake had tasted funny. “I remember…!” cried Cadance. “I recognized it was a love potion, but too late.”

Spike felt a mix of shame, upset, and horribly embarassed. “…I fell in love with Twilight?!”

“Oh, sure, you were head-over-heels.” said Pinkie, but that only earn her scornful looks from the others, and Spike only felt so embarassed he froze on the spot.

Twilight tried to comfort him, but Spike still could barely bring himself to move or make a sound, and as for Cadance, much as she was disturbed by the thngs she had done, she had to ask. “Sun, why… why were you trying to give Strings the love potion?”

Sun was nervously and shamfully looking at the floor, but it was Twilight who could tell the answer instantly.

“You’re in love with Strings, aren’t you?”

Sun nodded softly, “He and I were friends, and we grew up together at Canterlot Palace-- Both our parents worked in the staff.

He was so kind and sweet, and the way he would be facinated in music and try to write songs. I knew he would be the only colt I would ever love.”

The gang felt moved by her story, but then Sun looked nearly tearful.

“But Strings… he was in love too, with some-pony else.”

“Who was it?” asked Cadance.

Sun shook her head, “I can’t tell you. I mustn’t.”

“Why not?” asked Applejack “We’re all trying to help you here, and Strings, and honesty is the best thing you can do at a time like this.”

“No, you don’t understand.” cried Sun.

“Try us…” said Shining Armor.

By this time, Sun was trembling nervously, and she looked over at Strings, not feeling she could bring herself to say it. It wasn’t until Twilight and Cadance approached her.

“We’re all friends here,” said Twilight “And friends help, they understand.”

Cadance agreed, “Sometimes secrets must be revealed, but don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone if it’s that much to you.”

Unable to contain the pressure, Sun came clean “…It’s you, Princess Cadance.”

Cadance gasped softly, so did Twilight and the others.

“What?” snapped Shining Armor. “Strings is in love with my wife?”

Twilight then remembered back at the restaurant, she thought Strings was looking over at Sun, but realized Cadance was sitting right where Sun stood, and when Cadance went over to thank Strings personally, he looked sad and rather nervous.

Cadance suddenly remembered, way back when she was younger, and an older student in the schools, there would be times when Celestia would pair up her class of older students with buddies from the minor classes, as ways of developing friendship and social understanding.

They would do arts and crafts, reports, or just hangout on play dates.

Cadance remembered Strings was always her favorite student. “I remember, he was always so full of light, love, and he was very talented at the piano and with a guitar. I loved hearing him sing.”

She recalled him one Hearts and Hooves day, when he had written a song for their project on how to demonstrate love, and asked if she’d like to hear it first… and she did: “Moonlight Becomes You.”

(0:14)

“That was beautiful, Strings.” she would compliment.

Strings blushed and said, “You sort of inspired me to write it. I wanted to give it to you as a hearts and hooves gift.”

Overly-flattered, she kissed him on the cheek, but of course, she only assumed he was just being nice with her like a friend.

“Wow!” said Rainbow “Sounds like he really had it for you.”

Rarity was half in a lovey daze. “That sounds so beautiful.”

Even Shining Armor had to admit, “…I guess that is pretty deep.”

Sun sighed miserably, “I was probably the only pony in class who could see it, and worse, Strings only ever saw me as a friend-- a good friend-- but try as I would, I couldn’t get him to notice my feelings.

It became even harder when Strings was asked to become a singer by the palace staff, and that’s how his career was launched, and he was busier than ever, writing more songs, coming up with melodies, and I could tell… he was madly in love with Princess Cadance, as his songs were all romantic and passionate. He was trying to drop her signals. Naturally, she never got the message, either Strings wasn’t clear enough or she just couldn’t see.

Of course, it was revealed that’s had been dating Shining Armor for a while, and they became engaged.

…Strings was crushed! So crushed, he had run away from Canterlot, unable to be so close to his inspiration, the pony of his eye and yet face the reality that it wasn’t meant to be between them.”

Cadance and Shining Armor remembered that. They had both hoped Strings would come to their wedding and maybe play one of his songs for them to dance to at the reception.

Everyone else knew the rest of the story. Word came sometime after the royal wedding that Strings became a well renowned singer and song artist throughout Equestria, Cadance and Shining Armor were so porud of him, and yet niehter of them had a clue of his feelings for Cadance, they asked if he would move to the Crystal Empire, and offered him a place of his own.

Strings accepted, but he seemed rather gloomy at times, and he often kept to himself, yet he would accept Cadance’s offers of performing at galas, events she organized, even provide his music at theatrical productions.

“Why would he do all this?” Cadance wondered aloud “Why would he never even tell me about his feelings?”

“…I’ll tell you why.”

Everyone turned and saw Strings sitting upright in his bed, having awoken, and having heard a few things.

“Strings?” cried Sun.

“Are you alright?” asked Twilight.

“Never mind that,” said Strings, and he explained.

“I was trying to protect both the Princess, and you, Sun.”

The ladies were both confused.

“Sun, I knew you were in love with me from the start.”

Sun gasped softly, and blushed madly.

“How could I not know? You were always gazing at me, and blushing. You would send me secret notes, and I would recognize the writing style, and you were very kind to me, trying to drop me signals.

But, I knew my heart belonged to the princess. She was my inspiration, the one pony I wished to express my feelings to and dedicate my life. My mind was made up, and my heart was set. I could never go against it.

How could I tell you flat out it would never happen between us? I didn’t want to hurt you, so I tried to be subtle by telling you that I valued you as a friend.”

As expected, Sun had a crushing, tearful look on her face, and Strings felt ever so regretful.

Strings pressed on his bed with his hooves tightly, much like clenching a fist.

“When Princess Cadance planned to marry Shining Armor, I knew it was hopeless. Everything I dreamed and worked for would never be.

I wished no harm on the Princess, or those affiliated with her who supported the marriage, and so I ran away, to help myself recover and hopefully fund my strength again, but it never happened. I could never forget my love for Princess Cadance.

If I could not be with her, well… then I resigned myself to always be alone. I never wished to ever fall in love again, or let any mare enter my heart. How could I love any mare when my heart would always belong to Princess Cadance, even if there could never be a thing between us.

When I received her request to come to the Crystal Empire, in-spite of the over-bearing heartbreak, I couldn’t just turn it down flat, not for… an old friend. I was a music artist because of her, and I still wanted to sing, and I thought maybe it would help me.

…it didn’t.

I found myself always in love, and a hopeless romantic.”

Cadance felt sorry for him, so did her husband. Then Shining Armor expressed concern, “Well, why did you never tell us, we would have understood.”

“I think I know why…” said Cadance, and she looked deeply at the depressed singer “You kept your feelings secret because you didn’t want me to find out... Right?”

Strings nodded, “I felt that if you knew it would cause you concern, stress, and perhaps embarrassment. If the news leaked out, I feared you and I would subjected to tabloid propaganda, rumors, and that would cause you more trouble.

I didn’t want that for you. I knew you were happy with your husband, and I wanted nothing to upset that.”

He strongly backed up what he said by stating how he didn’t even try to take advantage of Cadance while she was cursed with the potion and wooing him. He knew it was wrong, and he did all he could to stop her.

Ever since her and Shining Armor’s engagement, and long after their marriage, he did nothing to upset them. When they invited him back to the Empire, he showed no hostility, he held no grudge and remained as loyal as ever, with no vengeful plots or even thoughts of it.

He just let them be the way they were.

Cadance and Shining Armor couldn’t begin to imagine how much strength and courage that took-- keeping it all locked up inside of him for years-- It was no wonder he had a heart attack.

He then looked over at Twilight, “Also, it meant I wouldn’t have to hear from you, Princess Twilight.”

Twilight knew what he was getting at, and she didn’t know whether to feel concerned or insulted. “I would have helped you. We all would have.”

Her friends all agreed, and Sun stepped forth. “Strings, that’s why I tried the love potion.

When you moved here to the empire, I thought maybe you had changed, and maybe we could try and see if we could build a romance, but I could tell your heart was still closed. I couldn’t bear to see you doing this to yourself, and I thought if I could help you forget Cadance… maybe you would…” she paused “…Learn to forget and… even… love me?”

Strings knew he would regret what he was about to say to her. “Sun… I understand this must hurt you, I know the feeling too well, but… I can’t change my feelings simply because you want me to.”

“How would you know?” asked Rainbow “You weren’t even willing to try.”

Rarity cleared her throat, “I am inclined to agree with Rainbow Dash. I’ve made many good attempts to show my feelings to those I have… crushed on.”

Strings only shook his head. “Love isn’t something that can magically happen. It’s not something two beings can simply try. They either have something special, or they don’t. If they don’t have it, there is no magic here, or in all of Equestria that can make them get it.”

Many of the others would have protested, by Cadance said, “I’m sorry to say this, but he’s right.”

Twilight agreed with her, and she said to Sun, “Even if you had succeeded in giving him the potion, it wouldn’t be his true feelings.”

“That, and he’d turn into a love monster.” Spike pointed out. The others couldn’t deny, he was right.

Sun was looking ready to burst out sobbing like no tomorrow. All this time she had been making a fool of herself, and she put others in danger with her carelessness.

…But it was Strings who finally broke down, sobbing ever so silently into his curled up legs.

“Strings…” said Cadance. She felt a little like crying herself.

String softly asked everyone nicely, “Please leave… I need to be alone right now.”

He wasn’t kidding. He felt so hurt with his broken heart, and very upset with himself for hurting Sun.

“Come on, we better go. He needs to rest.” said Shining Armor.

Twilight agreed it was best not to put him through anymore pain, and Sun really needed some comfort too.

Everyone quietly waltzed out of the room, some were sniffling, and some didn’t know to be livid, shocked, or understanding towards what happened-- so many double standards!

Cadance took one last look over at Strings as if she wanted to apologize to him, but that would only make things worse, so she said nothing, and just left him to quietly weep in shame and heartache.