Over the following weeks, Seth and Octavia fell into some sort of a routine. They saw each other regularly, a combination of drinks, dinners and lunch outings. Seth loved every second he spent with the mare, but he was fast becoming frustrated with himself: he wanted to tell Octavia his feelings, but he just couldn’t find the right time. Seth was well aware that he was waiting for the impossible. It was a fantasy, a story-book situation where the stars (and the moon for good measure), aligned themselves into perfect orientation with each other while Octavia did nothing but batter her eyes at him in the moonlight, and the Princesses themselves helped in his declaration. Despite this understanding that what he was waiting for was never going to happen, Seth couldn’t bring himself to actually tell her.

He felt as if they were trapped with her flirting and his feelings hidden just below the surface, neither pony willing to point them out. For Seth it was the fear of rejection that held his tongue. He had no idea why Octavia stayed silent. In fact, he wasn’t even sure if she was flirting to begin with. It was such an ambiguous term after all.

One Tuesday, Seth and Octavia were engaging in one of their more increasingly common activities, a lunch date. It was a gorgeous day, the sun was warm but not uncomfortably so and a cool breeze washed over Canterlot. The two ponies sat outside one of the fancier café’s in the upper-class district of the city, enjoying the good weather. Despite his frustrations, the pony was content with the day so far: Octavia was in a very jovial mood, which he found very entertaining.

“I have to say,” Seth said, just finishing his salad. “This food is actually fantastic, we should remember this place for the future, I think.”

Octavia nodded her agreement, swallowing a mouthful of soup. “I wholeheartedly agree actually. It may even rival my cooking!”

“Such modesty!” Seth laughed.

“I am a show pony after all,” Octavia countered. Her smile was infectious.

“Very true, and also a mare of many talents, don’t forget that.”

“Indeed! I have taught you well, it seems.”

Seth laughed loudly at this, earning a few sideways glances from other patrons at the café. “You certainly are in a good mood today.” He laughed again. “But I have a terrible feeling that I am going to have to take you down a peg, aren’t I?”

“Seth my dear, you can definitely try.” She stuck her tongue out at him, causing Seth to chuckle, albeit more quietly this time.

“Oh I will. Rest assured, I will,” Seth said in a serious voice, mimicking one of the silly super-heroes that little colts liked.

The two ponies both burst into laughter at that, Octavia at the terrible voice he had just put on and Seth out of sheer embarrassment.

“Remind me never to try that voice again, ok?”

“But it was so entertaining!” Octavia complained, still laughing.

Seth groaned. He hoped she would forget about that quickly. “I am never going to be an actor, am I?”

“No my dear, you most certainly won’t.”

Seth’s heart managed to flutter at that.

Never gets old, does it? He sighed gently as a brief silence fell.

“Hey,” Octavia said suddenly, the informal greeting surprising Seth. “Are you available for the remainder of the day? I would very much like for you to see something.”

Seth jumped to reply. “Of course. I had a few letters and what-not for work to do today but I did them this morning. What did you have in mind?”

“Well,” Octavia began, suddenly seeming almost…nervous, “would you be interested at all, in coming along to our band practice this afternoon?”

“That sounds great actually. I would love too!” Seth said. He always loved to hear the music Octavia created. Her little ensemble really was his favourite music group.

“Wonderful!” she exclaimed, visibly brightening.

“What time is it?”

“Well, we actually should leave now. I have to pick up my cello,” Octavia explained.

“Alright then,” Seth said.

Seth summoned the waiter and paid for both of their meals. That had been a fight that he had won about a week ago, an intense duel over who paid for food that had lasted days. Finally, to Seth’s pleasure, Octavia had retreated, allowing him to pay in compensation of her cooking him meals at her house at least once a week.

“Such a gentlecolt,” she said shortly, still smarting a bit from the loss.

Seth simply laughed at her. “One point to me.”

The two ponies made their way through the streets of Canterlot, in no particular hurry, being glad to simply be in each other’s presence. After Octavia had made a stop at her place and grabbed her instrument, they continued over to the music hall where Octavia and her band practiced.

Seth felt a strange sense of déjà vu as they walked the city streets; he could swear this was the direction to the Canterlot Centre of Music and Arts, which would just be incredible as only the best of the best managed to practice there. Before he could voice his suspicions though, they turned a corner and found themselves directly in front of the organic-looking construct that was the hall.

“You never mentioned that you practiced at the CCMA,” Seth said, his voice equal parts impressed and surprised.

“It never came up,” Octavia replied.

Is she nervous…? Seth thought.

“I mean, a week or so after my solo performance, the CCMA offered me the position. I told them that I was only doing work with my friends and would only accept if we were together and they agreed. Very fortunate, really.”

“That’s really impressive. You really are quite something, aren’t you?”

Octavia only blushed in response, all of her previous bravado long gone.

Seth and Octavia walked around to the side of the building where they were let into the artists’ entrance by a smartly-dressed security guard. Entering the theatre, Seth felt he was in an entirely different building to the one he had seen Octavia perform at a mere month ago. The corridors here were narrow and dimly lit, with ropes hanging from the ceiling and props in every conceivable storage space. Ponies pushed past them hurriedly, all looking like they had somewhere important to be and soon.

Seth followed Octavia as she led him through the twists and turns of the backstage areas. He occasionally caught a word or two of dialogue as she gave a brief tour.

“And there is the changing room for live production pieces, like operas.”

“Uh huh.”

Eventually, they reached the main stage, itself. Octavia opened a door and walked into the wings quietly, her soft hoofsteps echoing gently. Seth could hear voices coming from the stage, which he assumed belonged to Octavia’s bandmates and friends. A small bead of sweat travelled down his forehead.

I hope they like me… a small voice deep inside Seth’s consciousness said. “Shut up,” he whispered to himself.

“Sorry? Did you say something?” Octavia asked.

“Oh. Nothing,” Seth said, blushing.

Following Octavia, Seth walked onto the stage; three musicians stood there, fiddling with their instruments and chatting quietly. They looked up when they noticed the new arrivals.

“Hey Octavia,” a brown unicorn stallion called out. ‘Who’s this?”

“He is a friend,” Octavia said curtly. “Seth, meet my friends. That is Troy Keyes, he is our pianist. The other two are Melody and Golden String, who are our violinist and harpist, respectively.” She gestured over to a purple coated mare first and then a light blue one as she called out their names.

All of Octavia’s bandmates were unicorns, a fact which made Octavia stand out quite a bit.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Seth said, with as much kindness as he could muster.

“Heya Seth,” the pianist, Troy, said. “I’m gonna stake my claim early before the other two speak and say that I’m the cool one of this little group of ours.” He winked at him, smiling mischievously.

Seth laughed as Octavia rolled her eyes.

Next approached Golden String, the harpist. “It’s great to finally meet you. Octavia has told us a lot about you.” She smiled at him.

“Oh really?” Seth said, stifling a chuckle. “Like what?”

“About how my friends need to shut-up,” Octavia muttered darkly.

Everypony assembled laughed at that.

“Hi Seth, it’s nice to meet you,” said a quiet voice belonging to the purple violinist, Melody.

“It’s great to meet all of you,” Seth said, genuine in his praise. “I can’t wait to hear some of your music!”

“Oh don’t worry, you won’t be let down,” Troy boasted with a smirk.

“Indeed,” Octavia said. “Seth, why don’t you take a seat in the stands where you can watch us play?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Seth made his way down the stairs from the stage and into the seats. He sat in the middle of the third row, back far enough so he wouldn’t be staring up at the musicians the whole time. Octavia took out her cello and began to tune it, enlisting Troy’s help to match the correct pitch with the piano. When she was satisfied it was ready, she picked the instrument up and motioned that they should begin to play.

A soft melody made itself known to Seth’s ears, causing the pony to relax, a smile sliding across his face. Octavia and Melody worked in a beautiful tandem, with Troy and Golden String adding to the complex piece being woven in front of him.

They played for what seemed like hours, occasionally falling quiet to change the song. Seth loved every second of it. They were even better live than on CD.

After some time they took a break, the bandmates chatting quietly about the music. Troy stood around comfortably, affirming that their music was indeed fantastic, as usual. Octavia remained relatively quiet, choosing to offer simple head gestures in response to any questions sent her way.

“So Seth my good pony,” Troy called down to him with a smile. “What did you think of the first half of our current set?”

“That was only the first half?!” Seth baulked. “I mean, I love it, but that was rather long.”

Troy laughed. “Yeah, it is long. That’s why we will cut it down to only the best of the best over the next few weeks. This is everything in one big chunk of music. We fiddle with the order of things till we can find out what works and where and what should be left out.”

Seth nodded his head. “That makes a whole lot more sense. In saying that, they do all sound pretty great.”

“Of course they do.” Troy winked. “Well, I’m not actually needed for the next few songs, strings only. So I’m gonna come down and join you.”

“Of course,” Seth said, suddenly remembering that were other ponies onstage. He looked over at Octavia and she smiled softly at him. He smiled back and she looked down quickly, a red tinge just noticeable on her cheeks.

Before he could react, Troy had sat himself heavily next to him, sighing in contentment.

“Alrighty girls, fire when ready.”

Octavia, her composure recomposed, rolled her eyes at Troy and picked up her cello. She said something to Melody and Golden String, inaudible to Seth, and they laughed quietly, Melody trying to cover her mouth with a hoof. Smiling, Octavia tapped the floor four times to set a beat and the three of them started to play.

No sooner than they had begun, Troy started talking to Seth. “So, how did you meet Octy?”

Seth chucked a glance in the brown unicorn’s direction before speaking, taken aback by the nickname. “Chance really. It was just good fortune we were in the same bar at the same time.”

“Huh, really? That’s cool. She doesn’t normally go to bars that often, so you’re right, that is good luck.” Troy was nodding his head slowly, apparently deep in thought. “So then, you guys hang out regularly?” he asked abruptly.

Taken aback by the sudden change in focus from the unicorn, Seth stammered slightly with his reply. “I, uh… yeah. I guess we are. Just drinks and stuff.”

“Cool. Cool. She really is quite something isn’t she?”

“Yeah she is…” Seth trailed off at the end, a smile threatening to creep onto his face. He looked over at Troy and saw the teasing grin on his face.

Oh dear. Seth thought. “I mean, she really is good at a whole lot of things, it’s impressive,” he quickly added. Oh Celestia. Seth wanted nothing more than to bury his head in some sand. His normally cool façade from years of mental fencing through work was suddenly nowhere to be found.

Troy laughed. “Oh don’t worry. She’s artistic and all that, but hopeless in other areas. You’ll soon see.” He winked at him.

“She can cook…” Seth added quietly.

“So she’s been cooking for you now, has she? That’s fast.”

Oh come on. Seth blushed, his mind growing mysteriously blank. “I…”

Troy burst into laughter, nudging Seth in the ribs, causing the unicorn to blush an even stronger colour of red.

“Seth my friend, you couldn’t be more obvious even if you tried. I thought you were meant to be a politician or something?” Troy was still laughing, shaking his head slowly.

“Quiet, Octavia will hear…” Seth said half-heartedly.

“Oh don’t worry, she won’t. And relax, I won’t tell her either. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you. I guess.”

Troy chuckled again. “Well, are you going to tell her or what?”

“I…” Seth trailed off, blushing at his hooves. “I want too, but I just… I don’t know.”

For once, Troy was silent briefly, obviously thinking over his response long and hard. “Well buddy, good luck to you. I’ve been friends with that mare for many years now. In fact, I was really the first friend she made here in Canterlot…” He fell quiet, his eyes lost in thought. “Anyway, I’ve known her for a long time and I have to say, good luck.”

“Wait, her first friend?” Seth asked, a little confused.

“Yeah, I found her performing in some rotten jazz club about 10 years ago now. She was a really good musician, and she looked so miserable, so I offered her a spot with Golden String and me. We’ve been friends ever since.”

Seth looked away, trying to compute this information. Why on Equestria was she alone in a dingy jazz bar…? However, the pony had another, more pressing question.

“You said good luck… why?”

Troy chuckled for a moment before replying. “Well, Octavia’s great. She really is, but she’s not having the best time of things right now, and she gets really distant and all self-sacrificing when she’s like that. Makes it a real pain in the rump to talk sense into her.” He paused briefly, his eyes suddenly very concerned. “Aaaand I have probably just given too much away. Oh well, just forget I said that, alright?”

“Wait, what?” Seth was stunned.

“Look, it’s really not my place to talk. I’m sorry. Just… good luck, ok?”

“But…” Seth’s voice petered out to nothing. It was annoying, but he could understand Troy’s silence. In fact, he was probably more jealous than anything that Troy knew what was wrong with her and he didn’t. However, the conclusive affirmation that something was indeed wrong sent a chill down the unicorn’s spine.

Troy nudged Seth again, the smile back on his face. “Relax. Though it’s almost impossible to know what’s going through her head, she obviously likes you enough to want to spend time with you.”

“I guess… She’s just a mare out of my league.” Seth’s shoulders slumped, his eyes downcast.

“Hey there! That’s a terrible attitude! Optimistic till the last, ok? You’re clearly smart and successful and all that, so why wouldn’t she like you?”

A thousand and one rebuttals flew through Seth’s mind, but he made none of them vocal. The pianist had a point. Self-doubt would get him nowhere.

“You’re probably right, Troy.” Seth smiled meekly at him.

“Of course I am. I’m always right.”

Seth managed to chuckle at that.

“Y’know Seth? You’re alright. I like you.” Troy playfully knocked him again.

“Thanks Troy, that means a lot,” Seth said, genuine.

“Hey, think nothing of it. A friend of Octy’s is always going to be a friend of mine.”

The two unicorns fell silent, turning their attention back to the performers, both locked up in their own thoughts.

Shortly after, the three mares onstage finished playing, though Seth would never admit he really didn’t listen that closely. His mind was racing, not at all sure what to feel.

“So Seth, tell me, what did you think of that?”

“I loved it!” Seth exclaimed, ignoring Troy’s smirk.

“Wonderful! I’m glad you liked it!” Octavia replied, her eyes glowing with excitement.

“You all play so well! I just love your music. I cannot wait to see you perform in a proper concert.”

“Well, hopefully that will be sooner rather than later,” Octavia said.

They spent some time talking after the practice was over, Seth just generally getting to know Octavia’s friends better. They treated him with kindness and respect, something he enjoyed. It was a refreshing change of pace to his line of work.

Finally, they parted ways, making promises to see each other again soon. When it was just Seth and Octavia left onstage, she turned to him.

“So, you really liked it?”

“I really did.” Seth smiled.

“Good.” She cleared her throat. “I was curious, would you be interested in getting a drink with me now?”

“I most certainly would,” he said, a small spike of joy coursing through him.

She smiled, looking relieved. “Excellent, I’ll just have to drop my cello off at home first, and then we can go.”

The two ponies walked slowly through the streets of Canterlot, enjoying the twilight. After Octavia had dropped off her cello back at her apartment, they set about attempting to find a new bar for them to frequent.

“I mean, the Golden Glow is fantastic, but we really need a new establishment to… mix things up a little.”

Seth smirked and raised an eyebrow at the cliché. “Octavia, getting a little adventurous, are we?”

She poked her tongue out at him. “Adventure is lost on me. I beat adventure a very long time ago.”

“Beat adventure? That’s no mean feat, especially since it doesn’t make any sense.” Seth laughed.

Octavia gave an indignant snort that only Seth could find cute. “Of course it makes sense, you just don’t understand it properly.”

“So quick to temper Octy!” He nudged her gently.

Octavia burst into laughter at that. “Octy? My, my, you really have been listening to Troy.”

Seth smiled. “I like him. He’s a good pony.”

“Yes, he is,” Octavia agreed. “He really has been such a marvellous friend to me.” The musician fell quiet briefly, staring up at the sky. “So tell me,” she said quickly, snapping back to the present. “What did you two talk about?”

Seth slowed slightly. They were in amongst a quieter region of the city, filled mainly with shops that had long since closed up for the night. Seth and Octavia were alone.

“Oh. Not a lot really. Just about your music and stuff.”

Octavia raised an eyebrow. “I find that hard to believe. Troy certainly loves to talk.”

“Really, I am serious. He explained how you put together a set,” Seth lied, suddenly shifting his weight to one side.

“Seth, please. Be honest with me?”

Desperately trying to find the impossible way out of telling Octavia the truth without lying to her further, Seth subconsciously went on the offensive. “Well this is a little hypocritical. I don’t get any secrets?” His voice was light, but Octavia froze.

“Seth…” Octavia said, her voice cracking.

Seth was mortified, stunned by the words that had just left his mouth. “I’m so sorry! I really didn’t mean it like that!”

Octavia hung her head, not saying a word. Seth was horrified.

“Octavia I’m sorry! I’m-”

“No Seth,” she said suddenly, her voice quiet. “I am the one who should be sorry.”

“Wait, why?” Seth was totally thrown. It didn’t make any sense…

“I’m sorry for hiding things from you. I truly am. But please know, it is for the best.”

“What do you mean?” Seth said, suddenly very cautious.

“I mean that it’s for your own good. This way it’s simple. It’s uncomplicated.”

The words hit Seth like a tonne of bricks. He could not believe the words she was speaking. Uncomplicated? Was that what their relationship was? Something simple? That’s not what it was to Seth… Did she really not trust him enough to let him in? Each thought struck at Seth like an axe, shattering the pony’s spirit.

“I… uncomplicated. I get it.” Seth’s voice was flat.

“Seth I-”

“No, I get it. Uncomplicated. Simple.” He couldn’t believe what he was saying, but the thought that it was what Octavia wanted forced him to continue. “I can do that.”

Octavia stared at him for a long time, her purple eyes misting over, the pain on her face sending spikes of agony through his heart.

Look at what I am doing to her… Seth felt panic begin to rise. I’m hurting her!

“Uncomplicated,” he repeated, more to calm himself than anything else.

Octavia continued to stare at him hopelessly, the tears now noticeable in the corner of her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled. And then, with a look of desperation, she broke Seth’s heart. “I’m truly sorry,” she said. “It’s for the best, I promise…”

The musician’s voice faded into nothing as Seth slipped away into his own subconscious. The pony’s mind screamed at him to abort with wave after wave of pain racking his body.

With tears in his eyes, Seth did the only thing he could do. He fled. He knew he was a coward and he knew that he was weak, but he just couldn’t continue here anymore... Not like this.

He turned slowly from Octavia, not daring to look into her eyes, his voice breaking as he spoke. “I’m so sorry, but I have to go.”

And without another word, he left. His hoofsteps echoed in the night, just loud enough to muffle the almost-silent tears streaming from the musician behind him. He didn’t look back. He could barely breathe as it was.

Crushed, Seth began to run, his world shattered as the mare of his dreams was slowly enveloped behind him by the night.

A big thank you to Dacaz5 for putting up with me and keeping me going, another big thank you to HeWhoErasesMost for the cover image and a huge thank you to Sessalisk for editing! Also, thank you everypony for reading this! It really means a lot! :) Don't forget to leave a comment or a star rating!