“Um… I-I’m sorry, but could you please repeat that?”

Princess Cadence had never been asked such a thing her entire life. She lay upon the extravagant, regal couch, her smile faltering due to confusion.

She was in one of the many grand rooms that Canterlot Castle had to offer. A rich lavender painted the walls as a row of book shelves lined the one behind her, freshly dusted and immaculate. A balcony exit was to her left where the evening sun passed through the glass planes and fell upon the unlit fireplace. It had intricate floral patterns carved into the surface, mirroring the pleasant blue rug dividing the princess and her conversational partner.

“Really?” he said, leaning onto his hand as his elbow rested upon the arm of his couch. His peaked eyebrow and the sprouting smirk displayed his amusement. “Wow. Kinda saw this coming but at the same time thought you’d handle it better.” His other hand fell upon the lounging fox resting her head on his lap, his finger working beneath the studded black collar. The name ‘Roxanne’ was inscribed in cursive upon a silver plate.

He was a human- Equestria’s only human. Despite having been in the world for over ten months the novelty of meeting a fabled being never wore off for many ponies, especially Cadence. She could count the number of times she’d met him upon her prime feathers alone, but that meant she could see the changes in him in a staged fashion. It was like tracking his progress in a way.

For starters, he’d been going bare chested for the past three visits; in the beginning she had seen him without clothing (well stitched she might add) upon his upper body but ever since he had always been fully clothed. He looked as surprised as she was when Twilight opened his room door as he was about to take off his pants. Now his fuzzy, lightly tanned chest was exposed for all.

He also once had a little bit of, what she would adorably describe as, ‘squidge’ to his belly. He was also scrawny but broad in structure. It was easy to write him off as a balding minotaur but that would be along the lines of equating dragons to crocodiles because they’re both reptilian.

He lacked horns and she had no idea what were in his shoes but the long shape was not suited for hooves. He wore a brown pair of pants, the lid of a little cylindrical tube poking out of the pocket. She just imagined more hands at the end of his now-thicker legs. He had definitely built muscle in the passing time and it was something easily tracked between when they bumped into each other. He was fit and toned and if it weren’t for knowing him, through reports from Twilight and time spent together, she could now easily see him as an intimidating member of his species.

It was particularly due to how his expressions were sometimes so subtle they were easy to miss. Maybe she wasn’t as good at reading other species as Celestia, Luna, and Blue Blood had become, but she was at least assured that the ex-Elements of Harmony still had trouble to this day.

His eyes weren’t exactly small, but they were a dark earth tone and lacked the expressiveness of a pony. That smirk was of a predator catching prey off guard, but maybe that was flight or fight whining in the back of mind. He had brown locks stylishly combed back and over. Sharp features gave him an aggressive look even when he offering a genial smile, but he was otherwise pleasant.

“Are you, err, is this really what you wanted to ask me?” Cadence asked, tucking her gilded hooves beneath her. When he nodded slowly with his eyes elsewhere she turned her attention to her hooves. After a pregnant pause she shot her head back up with a small frown.

“What the hay is wrong with you?!”

“Oooooooh where to begin?” he replied instantly with faux exasperation.

“You can’t ask the Princess of Love that!” she shot back, her voice elevating in volume slightly.

“Evidently…” he muttered whilst massaging the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

“William, you can’t ask me ‘How do I stop myself from falling in love’ and not expect me to be a little bit annoyed by that. You came to me to ask that?” Cadence reiterated, her wigs rustling. She wasn’t livid, far from it, but at the same time she hated the thought of love withering and dying. If she could help it was her job, destiny, and duty to ensure love flourished wherever she went.

There was a short paused as William scratched the back of his neck. His discomforted expression didn’t go amiss, both by her or by the fox it seemed. The vixen sat up, her dark legs pawing at his chest as his hand graced her orange back. She gently head-butted his chin and the man let out a rumbling chuckle.

“Look… I’m sorry,” he began with a sad smile, “It’s just that I need to know this, Princess.”

“Cadence, it’s just Cadence as always, Will.” Her scolding expression eased into a sympathetic look as she tilted her head. “Whatever’s bothering you must be that bad, huh?”

Her horn sparked to life with glittery magic. A phantom blue aura engulfed a nearby cushion as the sound of wind chimes in a summer breeze met the human’s ears. A ghost of a smile, a hidden nostalgia, appeared on her maw.

“Am I gonna have to prep the pillows and call Twily and Aunty Luna for reinforcements or are we good on the whole first name bases thing?”

She could see the memories flash in his eyes; the recognition of the promise, not a threat, had been bolstered as he recalled the torturous process that lead to him finally removing the prefix ‘Princess’ prior to talking to her in private.

“Any other time I’d take you and the other mad mares on, but…” His smile was genuine, so she wasn’t offended by the rolling hand gesture, a universal symbol of ‘let’s get on with it’.

“Oh, wow, okay,” Cadence began, gently tossing the pillow regardless. It shot lazily towards his head as she then brought a hoof to her chin. He simply raised a hand and batted it to the side and away from his lazing pet.

“Thanks for trying to cheer me up though,” he added with an upbeat tone.

“What are friends for?” she replied with a pleased grin. Her eyes lit up as realisation struck her as the feeling of uplifting a friend’s spirit warmed her. However, the sight of his returned sagged demeanor caused her ears to lower as concern returned to her features.

“For asking tough questions that need answering,” he said with melancholy poisoning his tone, “For giving advice to help a friend in need.”

There was a long pause between the two. Cadence watched him take deep, cleansing breathes as her own mind formulated an answer. It drifted between weakly forged sentences, none sounding better than fortune cookie nonsense. The only other activity in the room came from the fox who leant over the chair and swiveled her pointed ears at the door before resting on his lap again.

“Who is it?”

He slowly turned his head to the side, leaning back into seat. His eyes roamed the horizon in thought.

It wasn’t the answer to the question, that much was obvious, but she needed more information. It could play a crucial role and provide critical information if she knew the mare whilst alternatively it could be a waste of time and-

“Does that matter?” The sudden response caught her off guard and left her blinking owlishly. “Because regardless of who it is, aren’t I going to start off with the same problems?”

“I suppose…” Cadence replied slowly, her mind processing the data. She had to take his body language into consideration, a fact Twilight was willing to prove if her thesis was coming along as swimmingly as she claimed, and thus she began to take notes.

He wasn’t looking at her. He was dodging the question as to who he ‘like –liked’. Finally, he felt that he shouldn’t date said pony.

…

…

There was only one possible logical answer in her mind.

With a brief wide eyed shock she raised a hoof to her mouth. She bit her lip before clearing her throat.

“Is it me?!” she blurted, her blood freezing as his eyebrows flared up. Mechanically, he turned to face her with a stunned expression. “Sorry, I didn’t mean just say it like that.” His twitching cheek left her embarrassed. I’m so sorry for just ripping that out of you. She brought her hooves to her face and groaned. “I didn’t mean to be so tactless, it kind of-“

A small snort stopped her rant.

Looking up she found him biting his knuckle with nothing less than pure mirth sparkling in his eyes. Her guilt fled instantly as she gave him a deadpanned look, ears flopping down and a burning frown forming on her brow.

“Go ahead.”

He simply shook his head and had the largest smirk she’d ever seen him wear plastered on his maw. William tried to speak at times but lost to what she could only label as ‘amused hiccups’, where he abruptly huffed out air and would shake on the spot. The vixen in his lap rolled over and strolled to the other side of the couch, wrapping herself up in her tail after shooting the man a dirty look.

Points for not laughing in my face, she conceded as she sat up to fold her arms in a mocking attempt to mirror the man as he held his stomach. She pouted to the wall until he finally laughed like a normal person, heartily, for a few seconds.

When he finished he sighed before shooting her a cheeky smile.

“Well, someone thinks highly of themselves.”

“Hey, this sort of conversation happens all the time and it’s always like that!” Cadence retorted with as much dignity as one defending the importance of high school romance could. She even went as far too point her muzzle into the air. “And I don’t like the way you reacted to that either so say you’re sorry.”

“I am sorry that the married pretty pink princess before me is not my crush.”

“The Pretty Pink Princess will forgive those who divulge their secrets,” she replied before pointing a fierce stare towards him. “So spill.” Hers and his smile formed simultaneously.

“I really don’t see how it matters,” he said, his smile faltering a little, “I don’t know what to do with my problems so… need your advice on how to stop my feeling developing further so that I don’t have to live with loving someone but never being able to be a couple.”

“And who dares says you can’t be a couple?” Cadence replied, emphasising the word with a hint of venom.

If there was one things she hated it was ponies trying to control who was supposed to love who. She was different as it wasn’t so much saying ‘this is the pony you will love and will you love them back’ between two ponies, rather asking ‘do you both remember why you love each in the first place?’ Sure she had magic that could help but again it merely conjured cherished memories not planted emotions in ponies.

“My physiology, biology, me personally, and society say so,” he replied as he listed them on the fingers of one hand. He said it plainly too, as if it was supposed to be obvious for her. Sure, his outward appearance might be intimidating, but she knew some girls like dangerous things in order to make them cuddly.

Now’s not the time for foolishness, she thought.

“Sounds like something Twilight told you to say.” Cadence replied to lighten the mood, her smile disappearing as a thought crossed her mind. “Wait, is it-“

“I haven’t spoken to her about this,” he said catching her trail of thought and shaking his head. “I mostly handle things myself and speak up when I need help.”

“Yeah, I recall Twily was none too impressed the last time you took initiative.” Cadence replied wearily, massaging her temples.

“Are you taking a dig about that one garden party?”

“When a pony is accuses you of being a barbaric, meat eating beast in clothing, the correct answer is not ‘you do not have to worry then, we can’t eat anything that’s been spoiled’.” She said, her voice deepening mockingly as she quoted him.

“So that was a dig at that one garden party, not advice to help me,” he replied, causing her to whine a little. Her head fell onto the arm of her chair as she scrunched her muzzle. After a small sigh she spoke.

“I’m not used to telling ponies how to not feel, how not pursue happiness.” Her tail swished before she brought it to her side. “It make me feel sick. It goes against everything I stand for, William.”

“I get it,” he responded after a short pause, his hands slipping to his knees. He leant forward, startling the fox as her head shot towards her owner. “I’m sorry-“

“Why?” she interrupted.

“Well for one thing you said you felt uncomfor-“

“No, I mean, why do you believe that you can’t have a special somepony?” The princess watched as he remained halfway through the process of standing up, his backside lingering above the couch. He fell back down onto his seat and moments before would speak, Roxanne then hopped off the couch and slinked over towards the balcony doors.

With both their attentions she began to paw at it. The sight caused the princess to giggle.

“Looks like somepony needs a little fresh air,” she commented as she unlocked the door with her magic. An idea dawned upon as the sun set. “Do you want to continue this outside, Will?”

“I was about to ask the same thing.”

With the cooling air of dusk embracing the half-naked man, William found himself folding his arms as he reclined on the wooden bench. It was rather simplistic, easily forgotten compared to the lush flowers potted around the balcony entrance and the pegasi cherubs engraved onto the stone railing.

Roxanne had gotten bored of sniffing the edges, yelping, mewling and barking at things happening below. In the end William had to call her over and put her on his stomach, half for control half for the shared warmth. Although the view of a mountain top city catching the final light of a glorious day never stopped being amazing, it was still a mountain top city where the temperature was unkind to those without a coat of fur. Thankfully it was summer, hence the reason why he felt comfortable going shirtless these days.

Cadence entered the balcony after departing half an hour ago and had returned with a tray bearing a tea pot and two cups. It was all fine china as far as he knew, the alabaster tea set seeming ornate and precious with jade ivory growing from the handle. Seeing her approach, he sat up and slid along to make room for her majesty. She placed the steaming teapot upon a nearby table and then perched herself beside the man.

“Now, have you had time to think about what why you supposedly can’t have a special somepony?” she said casually as she used her magic to pour out the tea.

“I’ve been stuck with this problem for a solid month, an extra thirty minutes of thought won’t make the problem go away,” William noted as he rubbed behind Roxanne’s ears. The cute face of pure bliss made Cadence desperate to hold the fox herself.

“But ignoring the problem for a month seems to be going so well,” she pointed out whilst suppressing a grin. Instantly, the content off the tea cup floating in front of her became far more interesting than William’s attempt to pierce his cheek with his tongue.

“I’ll give you that one.”

“So, come on, out with it,” she coaxed before taking a small sip. “Just let it all out, I won’t interrupt.” The second steaming cup floating in front of the man, exciting the olfactory senses of the fox as she daintily sniffed it. “Then you get to drink whilst I talk.”

“Baiting a Brit with tea, huh?” he replied with a frown slowly forming. He shook his head, Cadence only catching the phrase ‘American’ before reclining back once more.

“What was that?” she inquired as the cup hovered towards the table beside her.

“So Rarity finishes taking my measurements again, she does that flirting banter thing and I play the game for amusements sake.” he started turning his face to her. He ignored her suspicious squinting and continued petting Roxanne as the fox pressed her head into his chest. “She then wonders off to handle another customer whilst letting me redress.” He was silent for a while, his hands slipping around Roxanne as he pulled her close.

“I start thinking about how you guys see me. I’m different so that guarantees the stares at first until ponies get to know me, but I bet I could walk up and down Canterlot, Cloudsdale, and Appleloosa for months and still turn heads for the wrong reasons.”

He rested his chin atop his pet earning a little whimper from her.

“I’ve never really taken most of Rarity’s compliments…. about my appearance seriously, you know? When she says I’m a gentlecolt for something… I’ll believe it; she says that I look dapper… in a suit? She’s impressed by…my developed strength?” He pursed his lips and gently shook his head side to side. He then sharply exhaled through his nose.

“Sounds… hallow. She doesn’t strike me as the type who’d actually date outside her species.”

“William…” Cadence muttered, reaching over to rest a hoof on him. “I’m sure-”

“Must apply to everypony, I think,” William adds. “Makes sense. There’s got to be a lot of issues too.”

Princess Cadence may not be the best at judging other species facial expressions, but even if it’s a human’s the signs are similar. His eyes were glistening over, not quite tearing up but she could already sense them about the go over the edge. She could also hear the tightness in his throat, the cause of his pauses. His stare wasn’t at anything, it simply lingered somewhere along the bottom of the balcony railing if she bothered to guess. He still has that smile but in this new light she can only say it’s one of resignation.

“You want to hear my problems none stop? Fine.” His voiced had demoted itself to a whisper, no longer the jovial one he used. His tone was of self-pity, not as if everything he said had to sound like a one liner. He took a deep breath and leant back.

“Firstly I’m reminded on how biologically I would never be compatible with ponies- I’m simian based and you’re all equine. That means there’s no basic instinct to find me attractive, and even if we did try, the act of getting a mare pregnant is impossible.”

Perhaps it was seeing him on the brink of tears that prevented those sort of images from flashing in her mind. He continued speech.

“Everyone says it’s the greatest honour and experience, and beyond that it’s the point of life. If a species can’t reproduce or replicate it’s doomed from the start! I ca-can’t take that away from a woman! I can’t be the reason she can’t be a mother.” He adds before his breath hitches. It doesn’t stops him, he merely takes another steadying deep breathe.

“Not to mention the social exclusion. I sometimes relax with Rainbow by the lake, we’re both decent swimmers and aren’t afraid of a bit of rough housing. Word got around that she and I were a thing and some racist bastard on the weather team bitched about it and tried to make our lives hell! Did the same thing for Applejack too when I help from time to time, except Big Mac nearly went berserk as a result. In the end, me and him made sure the bastard got what was coming to him, scared the sod a little, but by that point the damage was done!”

By now Cadence had sat up, shocked at the transformation of the man and the news. She had a hoof to her maw and her heart aching for the creature she began to pity further by the second. He'd always been jovial, smiling as if he had finally found peaces these days. She would say stop, she would have placed a comforting hoof, but something told her to let it all play out.

“Who could I do that to? I couldn’t get intimate with anyone outside Ponyville in case something like that happens. Restaurants might ban us, hotels might keep us out, maybe I could pull the ‘I know the princess’ card but that not my style, and I just wouldn’t want the fuss. How could I get a good job anywhere else? I’m a handy man now whilst I work on my citizenship but after that? What then? Diamond dogs and minotaurs don’t exactly do what I wanted to do.”

Before she could ask, he took another deep breath and continued, despite Roxanne’s yapping. His voice had risen but was on the verge of cracking.

“Who’s to say I’ll even get accepted in the first place? I might get rejected, and it’s not just the typical melodrama bullshit, but if ponies think I’m more of a freak than I am, than I’ve become , then what?” William only paused to rub his eyes as Cadence stood upon the bench. She took a single step closer before she noticed how red the area around his eyes had gotten.

No…no, please don’t, William.

“William, sweetie, you can stop-“ She wanted to reach out and hold him, to simply offer support. She’d never seen him like this, then again she’d seen him less than ten times. Regardless, she wanted to whisper that everything would be okay and to sooth him. Until stopped herself when he started to clench his fists and bear a menacing scowl.

“And. Then. There’s. Me.”

Those four words were spoken with the utmost malice, each one spat rather than pronounced.

“I’m a self-indulging pig! Polite when I needed to be, a bastard behind backs, I was plain as dirt back home. Did nothing but sit on my arse feeling sorry for myself when nothing went my way, but guess what the worst part was?”

Cadence almost fired off a concussion blast of magic in self-defence when his attention snapped to her. Thankfully, Shining’s recommended spells didn’t need to come out. Her heart nearly stopped when he gripped Roxanne, startling the fox as it was roughly planted on the floor between his legs. Confused, the fox didn’t budge as William quickly pushed himself up and off the bench.

“I fucking realised what my problems were and… I KNEW WHAT TO DO TO FIX THEM ALL!” he roared, his breathing becoming rapid. He briskly marched towards the stone railing. “Don’t get me wrong, Princess, I had friends!” he stated as he turned on the spot and pointed at himself, “but I was too lazy to go out!”

“William, calm down.” Though she tried to calm down the man, her order fell on death ears. She quickly hopped off the bench as Roxanne scampered towards her master. She really didn’t like him wondering about in this mood.

“I wanted to get fit and healthy,” he added, slapping his sizeable bicep. “I wanted to be juuuust a little bit more cultured,” he finished in an unnerving whisper. He spread his arms wide, stopping in the centre of the balcony. “I do that here! I’ve been hanging out with friends here! I can research topics relevant to today and the past here!”

He dropped both of his arms only to use his right hand to point sternly at the floor. “I’ve been getting better mentally and physically HERE, but not when it fucking mattered back THEN!

“William, listen to me, please. You’re scaring me.” Cadence tried again, her eyes flickering towards Roxanne still whimpering and pawing at his legs. “You’re scaring Roxanne too,” she added, slowly prowling closer. He only continued to step back, his arm going slack.

“I probably should be, that’s normal, Princess.” His tone had returned to normal, his words sounding broken as he now looked. “It’s normal to be scared, I know. It makes us do stupid things,” he added, looking to the edge of the balcony. “Makes us look and sound like we’re going to do stupid things too. I know I scared you.”

Seeing him calm bolstered her courage, and so Cadence gingerly stepped closer. He didn’t move, and neither spoke as she took careful steps. Roxanne was nipping at his fingers, stirring life as they stroked her nose and teeth absentmindedly.

“Does this really scare you, sweetie?” The alicorn asked merely a few steps away. “Are you scared of falling in love with a pony?” He had eyes brimming with tears and a hoarse voice as he gazed into hers which could only relay her pure compassion and sympathy. They were warm, welcoming, and terrified at the same time.

“I think a lot when I’m scared, it helps.” He finally muttered, stepping back away from her.

“No, please wait-“

“I know somepony would catch me if I jumped, I know I’d scare you if I did, you’d never look at me the same if I did, just like how you’re never going to look at me the same ever again.” His voice hardly held mirth, merely mimicked it as a tired clown would, “I’m not going to jump, Princess.” He finished with a hallow chuckle. When it ended he added, “I haven’t stopped thinking since I got here long ago.”

He finally reached the other side of the balcony. Upon doing so he simply bumped into it and bounced back a little. It caught them both by surprise, both their eyes widening but their hearts calming when he came to a stop.

“I’ve been thinking to myself the same things, and since I guess I’m still talking I don’t see why I don’t tell you.” He took in another deep breathe, exhaling and leaning down to pet his whimpering fox. She nuzzled his hand affectionately as it slid to her cheek. Gently, he grabbed her snout and planted a small kiss between her ears. “Always there for me, eh?” he whispered. She licked his chin earning a smile. Standing back up he continued.

“Now, I’m doing everything I can to fix all that,” he said with an air of melancholy. He curled his left arm, tensing and causing the knotted muscles to bulge. “That’s a major improvement in seven months, but it’s not like I’m a body builder. I can even outrun a majority of Ponyville long distance wise, even out sprint a few, but that’s something cavemen could do back home. I can have decent conversations… about books now with Twilight, given it’s not about literary techniques, or requires in depth maths or physics knowledge.”

They both shared a chuckle, a small, bitter chuckle.

“She’s even got me hooked on constellations and philosophy now. I’m starting to get back into art too. Used a pencil for proper drawing for the first time since I chose my options back in high school- I dropped art because I thought I’d enjoy science more. I did, but it’s not really a cheap hobby. I just have this free time to fix my problems now between jobs.”

“What did you draw?” Cadence asked, slipping her hoof out of gilded horseshoe and reaching out for his hand, not the one Roxanne was rubbing her head against.

“I had Luna tutoring me for a week, was getting checked up on, so we kind off just drew stuff from the hospital bed whilst I waited for them to run tests. I’m a unique case, hence the three day stay over. We talked in between, it was surprisingly easy considering I’m from an advanced futuristic world in comparison, and she is from an archaic time. She lets me stay the extra days and I’m too polite to say no, every check-up had me getting just a bit better.” Before she could inquire, he cut her off. “It’s just been a monthly check up, they keep me here to check how my body’s coping from when I first got here.”

Cadence gently scooped his hand and slowly planted herself to the spot. He slowly, wearily looked down at her. She smiled, not because of what she was going to say but because he’d shown an expression; he arched a cynical eyebrow.

“I was actually going to ask if you had the hots for Aunty Luna,” her smile shifted to coy and he rolled his eyes. “Guess I’m wrong, huh?”

“I have a dream catcher and I put it up wherever I sleep; it really messes with her, says it’s like being caught in a fish net.” The image of the Lunar Diarch flopping around like a trapped fish in a net earned a giggle from her and an amused huff from him. “She hates it but is taking it on as a challenge. Sometimes I take it down to catch her off guard. Ends up waking me up when she powers through my dreams.”

“If a mare’s breaking into her colt’s house for his attention, then there’s something going on,” she added, subtly stroking his hand. He fell silent, his expression losing any sign of joy.

“We’ve gone off topic,” he muttered, his eyes flicking to his hand. “I’m not finished.”

“…Okay.”

“I’ve been fixing all my problems. I have friends that I actually go out and be with, it’s great. I suppose I should be content here, but I’m human and need more. I feel limited, like back home, and it’s a problem. But the one problem I can’t fix is this one. The one where I may or may not fall in love, and in the case that if I do… I couldn’t stop it.” He sighed, lowering his head. “I’m here to try and to find a solution that problem, but I can’t. The one problem I need to fix… forced me to do nothing about it.”

He looked back up, finding her waiting for his words, supporting him, comforting him. He closed his eyes, tightening them, pinning them down as he exhaled again. Liquid caked them as they opened, but not a single tear was shed.

“Because if I do try to do anything, all those terrible things will happen, Princess,” he said with a broken voice, “I don’t want to do any of that to someone I’m supposed to love, I don’t want to lose my friends because they see me differently now.” His hand slipped from her grasp and using his palm he rubbed both his eyes, not caring that he had fox saliva on the side of his face.

“I can’t lose my friends after losing my way home, I don’t want to just ignore the person I’m caring more and more for so that we can distance each other… I can’t hurt someone as badly as I’ve said either.” William’s body convulsed, racking through his abdomen and jerking him slightly. “So here’s the final issue, I guess. The one thing I’ve been holding in since I started changing all the way back when.”

Once again he made eye contact with her.

“I know what my problem is… and the world has changed so that I couldn’t do anything if I tried. Everything I’ve done to mend what was wrong before seem like pointless distractions.” With a final deep breath, and a final exhale, he added one last thought. “So Princess Cadence, please, how do I stop myself from falling in love?”

She had an answer. She’d bet her title, her cutie mark, and her life that it was the right thing to say. She didn’t want to say it. She thought he would take it well, it might hurt, but if he can consider so many reasons why it wouldn’t work out with a pony then she can say why there isn’t a way to fall out of love so easily.

“William,” she said sweetly as she took his hand again, “Love is not a destined thing, no matter what coincidence or stories would have you believe. It’s the building of a connection, one that roots itself deep into another’s heart and soul.”

She reared up on her hind legs, hooking her hooves over his shoulder. Now at eye level she bore her honest gaze into his startled own.

“If you won’t leave them alone, if you don’t want to lose the precious bond of friendship, then there is nothing you can do unless you bring this to them. If these feeling you have are fleeting, you must already know that they’re going to go, right?” She gently nodded, her grip tightening on his shoulders as her tail flickered. He solemnly nodded, his hands still keeping Roxanne company.

“And firstly, you don’t have to be scared of them rejecting you…silly,” she whispered, a coaxing smile catching his attention. “All stallions go through this as some point, some can always get over it and work up the courage to show how they truly feel.” She nuzzled his nose, sliding to his cheek as his arms mechanically slipped around her and beneath her wings.

“I hate this… I’ve tried not giving a damn and going day by day, like the girls and even Blue Blood say…” he whispered with shaken breath. “One day at a time... I tried not getting upset because what’s done is done and I just needed to focus on my own problems.”

She felt his grip tighten as they slid closer together.

“It just became so much…”

She felt her hooves came together over his back, a quiet shushing soon following.

“And, hey… ten months before breaking down isn’t too bad right?”

She felt his warm chuckle, a returning light in his dark despair as she offered soothing words of encouragement, pity, and compassion.

“… I’m so scared of what to do…”

She felt his sniffle and his legs buckle.

“I’m so scared… of being alone…”

She felt a tear run down her neck.

“I’m scared… Cadence.”

“I’ll help you,” she promised.

Author's Notes:

A short writing exercise to get me back into writing. It will be only 2 or 3 chapters longs, depending on whether I decide an epilogue is necessary.

Next chapter will cover Cadence's answer and an additional twist... also the origin of the pet fox.