>Day 320 in Canterlot
>The sun is starting its great arc through the sky
>Get up
>Spend a little time making breakfast for once
>You've got time and besides, you're a Court Adviser now
>You can afford to be late once in a while
>Eat your breakfast and head out the door
>Thankfully there haven't been any incidents since the parasprite scare in Fillydelphia last month
>You've been doing more relaxed work since then; talking to delegates mostly, some internal affairs
>You look at the sky as you walk to the offices
>...oh fuck
>A pillar of smoke is rising from the direction of the Gardens
>The messenger stone in your pocket starts buzzing like crazy
>Take it out and read the scroll that appears from it
>Oh good, the scroll says that Canterlot isn't on fire
>The smoke is just from a sleeping dragon
>Good
>Close call
>...
>Wait...
>You look at the scroll again
>”sleeping dragon”
>Yep
>That's what it says...
>Fuck
1/x
 
>Garnet Locket and Crystalbright are sitting in their offices when you rush by
>”Hey Anon, what's the rush?” Garnet pokes her head out of her door
Can't talk right now, Garnet, I've got something I need to handle right now
>You speed-walk through the offices to the conference rooms
>Like motherfucking deja-vu, it's Celestia and Luna with a couple other Advisers
>This has long day smeared all over it
>”Thank you all for coming on such short notice.” Celestia begins
>”As I stated in my letters, we've received reports of a dragon sleeping in the mountains near Ponyville”
>The Advisers start talking with one another
>”In response, I've sent my student Twilight Sparkle to handle the situation peaceably”
>What
>”Of course, should she fail to move the dragon someplace else, we'll be forced to take more... drastic measures”
>The Princess's tone drops to an unsettling grimness
>Twilight had better know what she's doing
>An Adviser speaks up
>”How can we entrust this to a filly?”
>Celestia looks around the room
>No one looks sure about this
>”Twilight Sparkle will come through. However, we also have to plan for a worst-case scenario”
>She opens the floor up for debate
2/x
 
>The Advisers talk for the next hour before deciding that, should Twilight Sparkle fail, a back-up plan will begin
>You all agree that the best course of action in that case is to send a brigade of unicorns out to subdue and transport the dragon to a different location
>The dragon will no doubt be enraged, which would put the ponies on the team in danger as well as incur the possible wrath of the dragons as a whole
>You figure that Equestria is probably not well-suited for fighting an army of dragons...
>However, there won't be much choice should Twilight fail
>100 years of smoke over Equestria is not ideal for a kingdom whose greatest resource is agriculture
>The meeting concludes and you head back to your office
>Crystalbright sticks her head out of her office door
>”Hey Anon, how'd your meeting go?”
It went, I guess. The Princess sent Twilight to deal with the dragon. We just had to come up with a back-up plan
>”Ah, let me know when you need those papers” You've noticed her tone towards you get a lot more businesslike in the past weeks
>It's your own fault, you haven't been spending nearly as much time her as you used to
>You've only been hanging out with her when it's you, Crystalbright, and Garnet together
>There just hasn't been that much time to spend with only one of your bros, between work and Octavia...
Hey Crystalbright?
>She pokes her head out again
>”Yeah?”
You want to come by later tonight for booze and movies?
>She perks up. You haven't done this with your bro in a while and it shows
>”If you change it up to movies and booze, I'm in”
>Good
3/x
 
>Your thoughts drift back to Octavia after you go back to your office
>A month ago you had that dinner with her
>Things sort of just happened after that
>You were an item before you knew it
>Crystalbright congratulated you, but it felt half-hearted
>Garnet went crazy with excitement when you told her
>An hour of questions later and she was still bouncing off the walls
>Apparently inter-species relations, while uncommon, are kosher here
>You shudder involuntarily
>As much as you enjoy spending time with Octavia...
>As many feels as come up when you spend time with Octavia...
>You don't like the idea of...well...
>Guh, you can't even carry the notion
>Oh well. You'll figure that problem out when you come to it
>...And hopefully that'll be a while...
>...A long while...
>...Shit...
4/x
>You put your thoughts back to your job
>No time to think about shit like this
>The rest of the day is spent worrying
>Worrying about the dragon
>Worrying about Octavia and you
>Worrying about how much you're worrying
>5 o'clock can't come fast enough
>You're out the door as soon as the clock chimes
>You head home to get dinner
>At least your bro Crystalbright's coming over tonight
>Movies and booze will put your mind at ease
>You eat your food and look through your movie collection
>8 o'clock you hear a knock at the door
>Crystalbright comes in with a bag of Applejack Daniels bottles
>”Let's do this!” She looks enthusiastic
>You're glad
>You were beginning to think you'd fucked up somehow
>The two of you vault over the back of the couch and throw a movie on the TV
>Crystalbright opens the first bottle of Applejack Daniels
>The night is on
>And you are gonna get DRUNK
5/x
 
>By the time the second movie is over the fourth bottle is empty
>”Do you really like Octavia?”
>Crystalbright's voice is quiet
>Your drunk ass barely hears her
>She looks at you as the credits roll by
>”Anon? Do you really like Octavia?”
>Where's this coming from?
>”Hey! I'm asking you something, Anon!”
What? Yeah, of course I do.
>You don't even need to think about it
>Dat pone
>You see Crystalbright look down at the floor
She's...my special somep0ny
>Crystalbright winces like you've cut her with a knife
>She slowly gets down off the couch and starts walking to the door
>”It's getting late...I should go...”
>You look at the clock
>It's only 11...
>You turn around as the door closes
>Well there goes your buzz
>Now you KNOW you fucked up
>You look over at the bottles of booze left in the bag
>'Later, old friends. We have work tomorrow'
>You go to bed, disheartened
6/x
 
>Crystalbright doesn't come to work the next day
>Garnet says she came down with something
>You know she's avoiding running into you
>You slog through the day unenthusiastically until deciding to just leave around 3
>Garnet looks at you, concerned, but you assure her that you're fine
>Crystalbright's behavior doesn't make sense to you at all
>She's supposed to be your bro
>Shouldn't she be happy for you?
>Garnet was ecstatic when she heard the news
>Aquamarine gave you a high-hoof the second you mentioned it
>But Crystalbright?
>She barely managed to look up at you when you told the two of them about Octavia
>What was her problem?
>Walking down the street it hits you
>oh
>OH
>FUCK
>You're an idiot
>Your oblivious ass didn't see the reasons for any of that
>”She's in love with you”
>You whip around to see Garnet friggin' Locket standing behind you with a deadpan look on her face
How did- but you were- wait. You KNEW?
>”Anon, I've been that pony's best friend since we got our cutie marks. I knew longer than SHE did.”
>She sure is perceptive behind that facade of fan-madness and bubbly optimism
7/x
 
>Garnet looks at you with knowing eyes
So what am I supposed to do now?
>You're good in a crisis, but can't handle THIS? The hell is the matter with you?
>'Shut up, Brain. Not the time'
>She looks at you like you're stupid, which, to be fair, you are right now
>”You gotta follow how you feel, Anon”
>Great. Follow your heart? That's not cliché in the slightest
>You think about your bro. You think about staying up late watching movies and getting drunk
>You think about how she helped you save Canterlot from certain chaos
>Your bro means everything to you
>But your heart's not in it
>She's your bro. Nothing more, nothing less
>But Octavia...
>datdamnfeel.gif
>You can't shake it
>You look at Garnet after a minute
>She nods and walks away without saying a word
>She understands. Doesn't hold it against you
>You're not sure you'll be able to say the same for Crystalbright
>Look up at the sky
>Decide to get a late lunch at the cafe
>Gotta get your mind off this
8/x
 
>You take a seat at the counter and order your food
>'Any chance you'll let me do this later, Brain?'
>LOL nope. You fucked up with Crystalbright and you're fucked up with Octavia
>'Dammit, you're a dick, Brain'
>You're welcome
>'Fuck you'
>Your food comes out as you're mulling over the last couple days
>When did your life turn back into high school?
>Now one of your best friends is on the drama-train to shitsville
>”Something wrong, Anon?”
>It's Aquamarine.
>Confound these ponies, they show up out of nowhere
>”Garnet said you'd be here”
I figured. I guess you heard then?
>”About Crystalbright? Yeah, Garnet brought me up to speed.”
>The turquoise pony sits in silence for a second
>”So what are you gonna do?”
>That's a good question.
>”You can't just avoid each other forever,  Anon. Some point you're gonna have to talk about it”
I know. I know how Crystalbright feels, but-
>”But you've got to think about Octavia. Not to mention YOUR feelings”
>Your feelings
>She's right, you know. As much as it's going to hurt Crystalbright, you've got to go with your feels
>And your feels are all Octavia
9/x
 
>You've made your choice. This isn't some movie, it's real life
>You can't just throw your feelings for Octavia out when your best friend drops her own on you
>”We get it, Anon.” She puts her hoof on your shoulder
>”But you're gonna have to confront this with Crystalbright at some point”
I will, Aqua.
>You will
>Well? You gonna wait around or are you doing this now?
>'Shut up, Brain'
>Drop your money on the counter and get up
>”She's at her house”
Got it
>You start out the door
Oh, and Aqua?
>”Yeah?”
Thanks
>You walk to Crystalbright's house determined to set things right
>Your friends have always been there for you
>They helped you when you needed them most
>Time to return the favor, at least to one of them
10/x
 
>As you make your way to your friend's house your mind sets to thinking about what's happened
>You've known Crystalbright and the others for almost a whole year now
>They were the first ponies to accept you after Celestia put you on Emerald's team
>Your first friends in Equestria
>You thought you had a good thing going
>Looking back, it's obvious
>The late night movies, the teasing comments, the “always there for you” attitude
>Your stupid ass just didn't see it
>Didn't want to see it
>So much for that “insight” Celestia always said you possessed
>It couldn't have helped that you so readily started seeing Octavia
>No wonder her congratulations were so unenthusiastic
>Dammit, you're an asshole for not seeing it earlier!
>But it's too late now
>You're not about to break it off with Octavia
>Just have to talk to Crystalbright and get everything out in the open
>Then you can move past this and get on with your life
>...hopefully
11/x
 
>Crystalbright doesn't answer the door the first time you knock
>You just hear shuffling until you knock again
>The door opens slowly
>Crystalbright looks like she's been up all night
>Her eyes go wide when she sees you
>”A-anon?”
Mind if I come in?
>She nods silently as she opens the door the rest of the way
>You walk in and look around the room
>”Was there something you wanted, Anon?”
>Ok, showtime, Anon
>Just say what you were going to say on the way over here
>Relax, and for the love of Celestia don't screw this up
I want to know how you feel about me
>You could cut the tension with  a knife
>It takes Crystalbright a second to respond
>”I- what-” She sighs
>”I guess it's out in the open now, huh?”
>She walks over to a chair and takes a seat
Garnet and Aquamarine put it together for me
>She looks down
I'm sorry I didn't see it earlier, Crystalbright, if I'd known...
>You look at her. She's looking at you with hopeful eyes
>Hoping against hope. You can see that much
...If I'd known your feelings earlier things might have been different
>Her face falls as you go on
But I just can't...
>Hope you're ready to dig yourself out of this hole
12/x
 
>Your friend has such a pained expression on her face
>You're just confirming what you both know, but that can't make it hurt less to hear
>The two of you talk for a solid hour
>When you've finished you get up to leave
>Best not stick around too long; she'll need time...
>As you walk to the door you hear her ask
>”Anon... If it WERE different, if I'd told you earlier...do you think...”
Crystalbright...we both know I can't give you an answer to that
>You leave the house
>As you close the door you hear Crystalbright begin softly sobbing
>That's not going to make the walk home any easier...
>You start thinking about Octavia again
>Did you do the right thing?
>Of course you did
>What are you even asking?
>Octavia means too much...
>Your heart knots thinking about it
>Wait...
>Access feels.rar
>Analyzing files...
>You're in love with Octavia aren't you
>Your jimmies are rustled
13/x
 
>You feel a sudden motivation
>Start walking purposefully to Octavia's house
>It's 5 o'clock, so she'll be getting out of her practice session about now
>The streets seem a blur to you as you move through them
>You've got your mind focused on one thing only
>Getting to Octavia before your courage wears off
>You come up to her house as she's walking there herself
Octavia!
>She turns, surprised to hear your yelling
>”Anon? What are you doing here? Don't you have wor-
>She cuts herself off as you scoop her up from the ground
>The gray pony looks at you in confusion as her face turns red
>You look her right in her lavender eyes as you bring her closer to you
I love you
>Ok, NOW her face is red
>”Wh-where's this coming from?”
>Were it not for that smile on her face you'd be worried. But you can see how happy Octavia is right now
I got to some thinking today is all. Made me realize how much you mean to me
>She closes her eyes, still smiling in your arms
>”...I love you too, Anon”
>You stand there holding Octavia in your arms for a while in contented silence
>Maybe now everything will be okay?
End