At this point, there were some students who actually couldn't remember the last time Tender Taps actually interacted with someone. True, the boy had always been the quiet type, keeping to himself and never really being a part of things, but lately it was as if he was going out of his way to be separate from everyone else, to the point of not even looking at them. But nobody really wanted to approach him on the matter, so, he remained alone. But, as the lad quietly studied by himself in the school's library, Sunset Shimmer, who was close by on her own table with Twilight, was glancing over in his direction. She'd been looking to him for some time now, seeming more than a little bit worried about him, and as she turned to Twilight, she finally spoke about it.
"I think...I might need to go over there and talk to him."
Twilight looked to her, surprised.
"Who? Tender?"
Sunset nodded.
"Yeah, I...I think he might need someone to talk to."
Twilight looked a little confused by that, tilting her head slightly.
"Well...I know everyone thinks there might be something up with him, but it's unlikely that we can just ask him what's wrong. What if he doesn't tell us?"
Sunset stared down at the table briefly, then looked back to her friend.
"Well...I do know what's up with him."
Twilight's eyes widened slightly.
"What? You do? How?"
Sunset sighed, glancing over her shoulder to again look at the boy.
"It was the other day, and me and Fluttershy were talking about some stuff as we walked down the hallway. I wasn't looking where I was going, and given that Tender's been avoiding looking at people, neither was he. We bumped into each other and...well..."
She glanced down again, this time looking to her magical necklace. Immediately, Twilight understood.
"Ah...I see."
Letting out another sigh, Sunset got up from her chair, gaining a determined look.
"...Wish me luck."
Twilight offered her a smile, watching her leave to go and talk to Tender. And speaking of the boy, as soon as he noticed that Sunset was walking towards him, he immediately gained a bright red blush, lifting his study book and trying to hide his face from view. Sunset, her expression softening, finally reached his table, gesturing to the empty chair next to him.
"Tender...can I sit here?"
The boy didn't answer, but Sunset could nevertheless tell that he was giving her a nod of consent. So, she sat down next to him, seeing how he was continuing to not want to look at her. After a while, however, she gently placed her hand upon his book, lowering it so his face was no longer obscured from her.
"Tender...I came to say something to you. Something...I think you need to hear."
Tender, still blushing, looked at a loss on what to say.
"I...erm...I don't know what you're talking about."
Sunset gave him a sympathetic look.
"Yes...you do."
She gave no explanation, but she did place her hand upon her necklace. Now, the abilities of she and her friends were well known throughout the school by this point, so as soon as she did this, Tender's blush became even more fierce, and he looked away, seeming utterly embarrassed right now, and maybe even a little ashamed. Sunset, who again gave him a soft look, reached forward, placing her hand upon his.
"Tender...it's perfectly okay."
But the boy shook his head.
"No...it's not! The things I've been thinking lately...the stuff that pops into my head whenever I see the girls of this school, I...I..."
He continued to refuse to look at her, and instead twiddled his thumbs.
"I know people will say. That it's just me becoming that age I am, that it's all perfectly natural, but..."
Slowly, he frowned.
"I...I don't want to think of the girls that way! It's...it's not right! It's not...not...respectful! Not decent!"
Here, Sunset smiled, offering him a chuckle.
"If it makes you feel nay better...I actually felt the same way once."
Tender looked to her, surprised, but saying nothing as she started to tell her story.
"When I was a young filly, back in Canterlot, I eventually reached an age where I started looking to my classmates and having...well...the same kinds of thoughts you're having."
She frowned to herself.
"I didn't like it very much at the time. I felt...wrong...for thinking about them that way."
Then, a smile came back to her lips.
"But Princess Celestia, my teacher...she could tell what I was going through, and that I was feeling bad about myself for it."
She turned, looking the boy right in the eye.
"And do you know what she said to me?"
Tender shook his head, which prompted Sunset to give her answer.
"She said it was natural for me to have those thoughts. I was of that age after all and, in truth, a lot of my classmates were going through the same thing at the time."
A chuckle escaped her.
"I still remember how awkward it was, all those colts and fillies trying to avoid each other."
She sighed.
"But...we all came to learn that it was no sin, thinking things like that. We weren't bad people for having thoughts like that pop into our minds the moment we saw someone attractive. We weren't criminals or villains for feeling...well...what we were feeling."
As before, she reached forward, giving Tender a pat on his hand.
"And you're not a bad person either, Tender. This school is full of pretty girls, from the ones your age all the way up to the faculty. And chances are that many your age, you included, will be having those thoughts and feelings pop in your heads a lot."
The way Tender again looked away from her certainly seemed to suggest that this was indeed the case, and the boy struggled to get his own words out soon afterwards.
"But...it's...not respectful to them. They don't want some boy like me looking at them and just immediately thinking...well...that stuff. It's not...not...nice!"
Slowly, Sunset nodded.
"I can see how you'd feel that. You're not the first kid to feel ashamed about thinking about your classmates like that, and you probably won't be the last either."
Then, she smiled.
"But you have to remember, Tender...the thoughts themselves are not what will make you a bad person in all this. It's the acts."
Tender looked back to her, very much looking like he wanted an explanation, which Sunset was indeed willing to give.
"Ever since this happened, you've been avoiding people, not wanting to even look at the other girls here. You've not acted on the thoughts you've been having and you've not acted disrespectfully towards them."
She leaned back into her chair, folding her arms.
"Believe me when I say that there are plenty of people out there who would feel what you're feeling and not hold themselves back for it. They would have those thoughts and they would be compelled to say or do things that, trust me, would be disrespectful...and even harmful."
Gradually, her smile returned.
"But you're not that kind of person...and I don't think you're going to be. The way you've been behaving...it's clear to me that you've been doing all you can to avoid that, and if that's actually what's been going on with you...then you're already on the right track."
Again, she leaned forward, her tone softening as she once more spoke to him.
"Trust me, kid...one day...you'll be able to get a better handle on these things that come to mind for you. They won't be as much of a bother and you'll be able to spend time with the other girls without being overwhelmed by these feelings."
A pause.
"If you want to avoid people for now because of this, that's your choice...but remember...these feelings you have? Those alone do not make you a bad person."
Tender looked to her, almost stunned at having these things said to him. And while it was clear from his ever-present blush that having a girl like Sunset close by was still a somewhat overwhelming feeling for him, he nevertheless managed to get his thoughts together enough to sigh and nod to her.
"Th...thank you, Sunset. I...I appreciate that."
Sunset smiled, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder, before getting up from her chair.
"No problem, Tender. And if you need to talk...I'm always available to listen."
The boy smiled to her, and soon afterwards, Sunset began to walk back over to Twilight. The other girl looked to her with curiosity, waiting until she was again seated before speaking the obvious question.
"So...how is he? Will he be okay?"
Sunset paused on that, then glanced back to Tender. And it was here that she spotted none other than the CMC, walking over to him and speaking to him about something. What it was, Sunset had no idea, but, she soon saw Tender looking over to her, and after a brief moment of worry and hesitation, he smiled to her. Tender again looked to the CMC, giving them a nod, which soon led to the girls sitting down around him, pulling out their own study books and pretty much including the boy in their joint study session. Sunset, having witnessed that, looked back to her bookish friend, smiling to her.
"Yeah...I think he'll be just fine."
Author's Note
Remember, thinking those kinds of things, especially at that age, does not make you a bad person. It's how you act on those thoughts which determinies if you're being innappropriate or not 
