Lavender Café

by IzzyLovesYou

Chapter 8: Royal Guidance

Chapter 8:

Poof! The purple mare appeared inside of her wooden cottage. Her meeting with Sunny had gone worse than expected. I’m home. Finally. Izzy felt like she was going to burst from panic. The previous night, she had trouble sleeping because of her thoughts. She just couldn’t stop thinking of Sunny! She’d hoped that it would end when she woke up, but when she woke up, she still felt those strange feelings towards the mare. Okay, maybe I do have a crush on Sunny…

Thinking of Sunny, Izzy realized she forgot to give her the Sapphire she picked out! She was so busy panicking, she forgot to give it to her! Sticking her hoof in her hair, Izzy ruffled around until she found the Sapphire. I’ll just teleport it to the table we were at. She's probably still there. Focusing her mind on the Sapphire, Poof! She teleported it to the table she and Sunny were at.

Sunny. Izzy hoped she didn’t worry Sunny too much. Izzy tried to hide her panic from Sunny, but admittedly she didn’t do a very good job. It was one thing to think about Sunny, but suddenly being around her felt scary, and she felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest and Izzy didn’t know why. I need to lay down. Teleporting to her hammock, Izzy took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

Once she was able to calm herself down, Izzy got to thinking. Why does being around Sunny suddenly scare me so much? There’s nothing to be scared of, it’s just Sunny! Even though Izzy had panicked around Sunny, the thought of her still made her feel happy. So why couldn’t Izzy keep her cool around Sunny now? There’s gotta be something, some reason that I’m like this.

In her own head, Izzy already knew the answer, but she tried to reason with herself. There’s nothing scary about Sunny, it’s not like Sunny is going to eat you or anything. Izzy thought back to the nightmare with the blue pegasus that wanted to eat her. Sunny seemed to be familiar with that pony, though Izzy couldn’t recall what she said about it. Sunny isn’t like that at all! So why am I so jumpy around her? It’s not like she hates me or anything!... But what if she doesn’t like me like that?

Izzy was scared of rejection. She wasn’t against the idea of being in a relationship with Sunny, not anymore, but she wasn’t sure if Sunny felt the same way. Would Sunny hate her if she found out about her crush? I don’t know if Sunny likes me back. I mean, she likes me as a friend, sure, but would she think I was weird for liking her more than that? Izzy was terrified of the thought of Sunny’s rejection. I don’t know what to do! I don’t wanna risk messing things up with Sunny. I need some advice.

Izzy couldn’t possibly figure this out alone. She’d never been in a relationship with someone, and she was never the most subtle when it came to her feelings. Sunny would see through her immediately. She needed to find somepony who could help. Somepony who was knowledgeable with relationships. Do I know anypony who is good with relationships? Izzy thought about it for a moment.

Hitch is a sheriff, so he’s probably good at handling situations. He’s too close to Sunny though… Zipp and Pipp are princesses, and they talk to a lot of people. Pipp especially with her livestreams and stuff. Maybe they could help? Her mind made up, Izzy decided that she’d head to the royal castle in Zephyr Heights to ask the princesses for advice. Focusing her thoughts on the castle, Izzy teleported herself.

---

Appearing in front of the castle, Izzy greeted the guards. The guards typically didn’t let anypony in, but Pipp requested the guards make a special exception for Izzy, Sunny, and Hitch since they were friends of theirs. Izzy had been here a few times since her first visit, so she got in with little trouble. Once inside, Izzy followed the maze-like corridors to Zipp and Pipp’s rooms. She figured that this was the most likely place for the two princesses to be.

Izzy stopped in front of the parallel doors, one marking Zipp’s room, the other marking Pipp’s. She needed to decide who she was going to talk to first. Zipp is probably studying, and Pipp is probably laying down scrolling through her phone, though she could be doing a livestream. Zipp is probably the better option here. Taking a deep breath, Izzy knocked on the door to Zipp’s room. Please be here!

After a moment, Izzy heard a voice, unmistakably Zipp’s. “What do you want, I’m doing research!” an annoyed Zipp replied.

Izzy took a step closer to the door. “Hey Zipp, it’s Izzy. Could I talk to you for a moment?”

Izzy waited for a response, but none came. Instead, she heard the sound of a chair moving and hoofsteps getting closer to her until the door in front of her opened up.

“Hey Izzy! Fancy seeing you here tonight. What’s up?” Zipp asked, her frustration gone.

Izzy didn’t want to talk about this in the open. “Do you mind if we talk about this in your room? It’s a bit personal…”

“Sure thing. Come on in.” Zipp said while beckoning Izzy inside.

Zipp’s room was surprisingly small for being a princess. Zipp clearly liked decorating it though since there were gadgets and gizmos all over the place, and she had more than a few posters on the wall. Izzy wondered how much of her stuff was intentionally placed and how much of it was Zipp forgetting to clean up. Finding a bean bag chair in the corner, Izzy took a seat. Zipp flew over to her bed and took a seat there.

“So, what do you wanna talk about?” Zipp asked.

Izzy needed to make sure Zipp would keep a secret. “Do you promise not to tell anypony?”

Zipp’s head tilted a little. “I mean, if it’s that important, I can keep my lips sealed.”

“Good.” Izzy thought on how to phrase what she’d say next. “I uh- maybe need a little bit of advice. You see, I think I have a crush on somepony, but I don’t know how to handle it. Whenever I’m around them, I start to panic and worry, and my heart starts beating like it’s going to fly out of my chest. You know I’m not the best at hiding my feelings, so I wanted to know if you had any advice for how to handle my emotions?”

Zipp thought for a moment. “So you say you have a crush on somepony, and you need advice on how to handle your emotions? Hmmm…”

Izzy waited patiently as Zipp thought. “Well Izzy, I can’t really help all that much when it comes to relationships. I’ve never really thought about finding a special somepony myself. It’s probably better if you talk to Pipp about that. She’s got way more experience with relationships than I do. I can still try to help you when it comes to handling your emotions though. I’ve had to do it a lot around other ponies when we were all still lying about our flight. We’re lucky they accepted us back after that stunt…” Zipp finished with a slightly annoyed look.

Izzy was hopeful. Maybe Zipp could help her with her emotions, and Pipp could give her advice on how to talk to Sunny! “That sounds great! Do you know if Pipp’s busy right now?”

Zipp glanced over at her clock. “I’m not sure actually, but I can go check.”

Izzy watched as Zipp took off towards the door and out into the hallways. She could faintly hear Zipp’s voice as she went into the other room to check on Pipp. I hope that Pipp is able to help. After a moment or two, Zipp returned with Pipp trailing behind her.

“So, what’s all this about?” Pipp asked as she took a seat on the bed next to Zipp.

Zipp flung Izzy a glance, as if asking if she should explain it. Izzy decided that she'd rather say it herself. “I uh… need some advice on how to handle a crush.”

Upon hearing that, Pipp’s eyes went wide. “A crush?! Izzy, why didn’t you tell me sooner?! Who’s the lucky stallion?”

Flustered and shocked by how suddenly Pipp’s mood changed, Izzy stared at Pipp. “i-it’s… uh… sunny.” Izzy whispered.

Pipp leaned closer. “What was that? I didn’t hear you.”

Izzy took a deep breath. “I-It’s Sunny.” Izzy’s voice trembled as she spoke her name.

Izzy stared at Pipp and Zipp as they gave each other a seemingly cold stare. Izzy guessed that neither of them were expecting her to say that she had a crush on Sunny. Izzy started shrinking in the bean bag a little with a look of embarrassment. She was expecting them to start making fun of her now that she’s said it. They probably thought she’d lost her mind! Why did I say it?! They didn’t need to know!

Instead of the harsh reaction Izzy expected, Zipp and Pipp just looked at her with gentle eyes. They watched as Izzy put her hooves in front of her eyes and started gently sobbing. Zipp and Pipp flew over to Izzy and put their hooves on her back.

Pipp tried to look Izzy in the eyes, but settled for looking at her hooves. “It’s alright Izzy. We aren’t judging you. It’s kinda cute actually! You and Sunny would be great together!”

“Pipp’s right. While I can’t say I expected that, know that we aren’t judging you. We’re here to help. Just try to calm down.”

Izzy wanted to move her hooves from her face to look at them, but the tears wouldn’t stop coming. She appreciated their support, but right now she had a flood of emotions bearing down on her. It was hard to admit her feelings about Sunny out loud to somepony, and even though they didn’t react the way she expected, she still felt a pang of worry as if they did say that. Izzy wanted to calm down, but at the moment it was easier said than done.

As Izzy cried, Zipp and Pipp kept holding her and trying to comfort her. After a little bit, Izzy’s emotions started to die down, and she was able to look at them again.

“I-I’m sorry. It’s just r-really hard for me to t-talk about this right now.” Izzy said with a stutter.

Pipp held her tighter. “It’s alright Izzy. We’ll talk about it when you’re ready. Take all the time you need.”

Izzy sat there, gently hugged by her friends. She started to feel a bit better. Her friends didn’t judge her, and they still wanted to help. Everything would be okay.

---

Izzy watched as Pipp marched in the center of the bedroom, her earlier feelings calmed down. Pipp was trying to think of how to handle the situation. “So you have a crush on Sunny, and you want to figure out how she feels, right?”

Izzy nodded her head. “Yeah, that sounds about right. What do you think I should do?”

Pipp turned to look at Izzy. “First you have to spend some time with her. You need to keep an eye on her and try to get a grasp for how she feels about you. If you sense that she maybe shares similar feelings, that’s when you are going to ask her out!” Pipp instructed.

Zipp flew over to Izzy. “In order to do that, I’m going to try and help you contain your emotions! The more you panic, the harder it is for you to pay attention to Sunny.”

Izzy listened as the two sisters described their plan.

Zipp beckoned over to her Whiteboard. “So this is you.” She said, pointing to a doodle of Izzy.

“When you’re around Sunny, you tend to panic, right? Well, when I was trying to hide the lie, I’d try to focus the conversation on the other ponies. The less they knew about me, the better. While you should still share the conversation with Sunny, you’re going to try and focus on her. That should help you keep your cool since you’re going to be spending time trying to focus on what she’s saying, and she will be spending time focusing on talking to you! Hopefully it should take the pressure off of you.”

Izzy was a little confused on how that would work, but she went along with it.

Pipp reached her hoof around Izzy’s neck. “Think about it this way Izzy, it’s a chance for you and Sunny to get to know each other better! As long as you focus on her instead of your fear, it should go well!”

Izzy was starting to understand where they were coming from, but she was still concerned. “What do I do if that stops working? What if I can’t hold my emotions back?”

Zipp and Pipp looked at each other for a moment. Zipp then turned to look at Izzy. “You can do what I always did when my anxiety got the best of me. I’d usually just try to get out of the situation and hide for a little bit to calm down. Then I’d come back when I’ve calmed down and can handle it again.”

Izzy thought for a moment. The idea seemed to make sense. Sunny usually never asked when Izzy excused herself before, so she probably wouldn’t question it. “That makes sense. Is there anything else I should do?”

Pipp set her hoof on Izzy’s back. “Besides keeping your cool, the only other advice I have for you is to be honest with her if and when the time comes. If she likes you back, then she’d probably appreciate it if you told her how you truly feel. I’m sure you’ll do great!”

Izzy looked towards both Zipp and Pipp, thankful to have such nice friends. “Thanks you two! I feel a lot better now. I’ll try my best with Sunny to see how she feels. You two will keep it a secret, won’t you?” Izzy asked.

“For sure! It’s best for her to know when the time is right.” Pipp chirped.

“My lips are sealed.” Zipp replied, motioning to her lips as if they were a zipper.
Looking at the clock, Izzy realized how late it was getting. “I should probably be getting home now. I’ve got a meeting to get up for in the morning. Thank you both for the help!”

As Izzy left the castle, she reflected on the advice she was given. Focus on Sunny and it’ll be easier to keep your cool. If things go wrong, get out of the situation and take a break. Keep an eye out for any hints that Sunny may like you back. That seems do-able enough. Once the plan was settled in her mind, Izzy teleported back home to prepare for tomorrow. She couldn’t risk messing this up.

Comments

[IzzyLovesYou]

We reached the end of my backlog, so it's going to be up to a few days for the next chapter to come out (it depends on my motivation). I'll try to get it finished as soon as possible though! For anyone wondering, there's 13 planned chapters + an epilogue chapter, so we're reaching the homestretch!

[IzzyLovesYou]

Apologies for the long wait for Chapter 9! I got sick a few days ago, so I've mostly just been resting and relaxing for the past few days. I'm starting to feel mostly better now though, so I'm hoping to get Chapter 9 out within the next few days. I just kinda gotta actually start working on it first. 😅

[IzzyLovesYou]

Another update for folks who have been waiting: I've written a first draft for Chapter 9, but I'm not sure if I really like it, so I might rewrite it. It's taking a while to get Chapter 9 done because getting sick has completely thrown off my groove for writing, so I'm having trouble feeling confident in my work right now. I've also just been busy now that I'm feeling better and can do stuff again.

I'm still hoping to get the next chapter out soon, but to be safe, I'm not going to make any release promises. It'll be out when it's out. I'm going to at least attempt to get it out before January ends though (preferably sooner that that of course 😅).

[Sunnydlight]

I fricking love this, just the way everything is expressed is so good! Keep it up!

[IzzyLovesYou]

11122094
Thank you! 💜

I'm hoping to update it again in the near future. I'm just going through a little writer's block. I'll hopefully have another chapter out soon enough though! Thanks for reading!

[TwiDash_lover0451]

This is an A-MAZE-ING story, please write more of this ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

[Starlight Glimmer1]

Since it has been over a month I am now legally required to poke this story with a stick.

*pokes story with a stick*

[IzzyLovesYou]

11135857
Ah, sorry! My mental health has just been in a bad place lately, so having the energy to work on this story and overcoming my writer's block has been hard. I'll try to get it done soon enough though! I'm so sorry for the long wait... 😰

Edit: I want to make it clear that I'm really not trying to make false promises. I've really wanted to finish chapter 9 for weeks now, but after not working on it for a while, it has become really hard to get back into the groove I had when I first started publishing the story (it coming out around the Holidays didn't really help either). My Anxiety has also been really bad lately, causing me to need to rest a lot since my head's been in a panicked state a lot over the past few weeks. I take meds for my Anxiety, but it's still a big struggle for me. And on top of that, I've been thinking about my gender a lot lately, and I've started identifying as Non-Binary, so I'm still figuring that out too.

All-in-all, I've just had a lot on my mind lately, and that's why Chapter 9 has taken so long. I just want to be open with y'all because I really do wanna finish this fanfic. I've got notes for every chapter lined up, I'm still just struggling to get back to being able to write it in a way that makes me happy. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can, and I'm truly sorry for how long it's taken me. I hope y'all understand. 🥺

[Starlight Glimmer1]

11135882
I am following the law and nothing more.

not everything I say or do should be taken seriously

[IzzyLovesYou]

11135917
I don't really know what this law thing you're talking about is, but I just kinda wanted to explain stuff since I have felt a bit guilty about this. 😅

I also struggle to understand tone through text, so apologies if I misunderstood your comment.

[Starlight Glimmer1]

11135948
The law of the internet.

[IzzyLovesYou]

Hey all, I just kinda wanted to post an update about the status of this fanfic. It's definitely been quite a while since I've updated things around here. 😅

The short of it is that I burnt out while writing this fanfic (curse my own perfectionism for wanting my first fanfic to be 14 chapters long). I've also been dealing with a lot of stuff irl, like starting new medications, questioning my gender identity, and family issues. I'm currently unsure about where to go from here since my fanfic relied on a lot of assumptions, and some of them turned out to be wrong. Either I could keep going with my canon, or once I am able to continue working on this fanfic, I could maybe rewrite it to fit the canon lore shown in Tell Your Tale and the Make Your Mark special that's coming out in like 2 weeks. I'm not sure entirely what I want to do yet, so this story is still in a bit of a limbo until I figure that out and get my life back on track.

I don't wanna abandon this story, but for now it's (staying) on hiatus until I'm in a place to work on it again, and once I figure out what I want to do from here. I apologize for not posting any updates about this sooner, it just slipped my mind with everything else going on. I still like to check in here frequently, so I'll respond to any comments, but I'm just not ready to continue working on this story again just yet. I'll try to post an update on here again when I feel ready to continue work on this. I appreciate all the kind words and reception I've gotten so far, and I don't wanna let you all down. 💙

[Gainedbedrock]

11238899
you should keep going and add the au tag, but you do you.
hope you sort things out, and feel better soon

[Briarlight]

Adorable story. Even tho its canceled I still hope ur doing well!