Are you an angel?

Your hands shake. Your mouth goes dry. Your eyes open so wide that you can practically see the curvature of the earth.

This can’t be happening! Christopher H. Blueblood, the only nephew of the princess herself, and the quite possibly the most famous person to ever attend Canterlot Preparatory Academy, is on one knee. In most places, that would be a sign that he would be asking to propose (which would only freak you out more), but at Canterlot Prep, it’s the universal signal that somebody is about to confess their feelings! Is this real life?! What’s going on?!

“I’m sorry for having called you out here so suddenly,” he says, bowing for an extra effect of reverence. “I know you probably have other things you need to be taking care of right now, but there’s something that I need to tell you.”

Holy crap! Is this guy for real?! Is he actually about to confess?!

“You see, from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you would be special. Your dazzling blue eyes and perfect lips are merely the cherry on top of the stunning girl you are. I already see that you’re generous, intelligent, kind, and have very high standards you set for yourself. Trust me, I can relate. That’s why I was wondering…”

Here it comes!

“...if you would do me the honor of dating me, and making me the happiest man alive?”

You can feel your eyes falling into the back of your head, nearly falling backwards with your mouth foaming in disbelief. Blueblood has always been the first to take a compliment and the last to give one, yet here he is, throwing his feelings out there into the wind. To be fair, you’re pretty sure that he automatically expects a yes, which under any normal circumstance would be the answer he would get. He didn’t confess to just anyone, though…

“Heart, heart, winky face emoji, and send! Hmm? Oh, sorry, love. I was replying to one of my followers. What were you saying?”

He just confessed to Vignette Valencia, the most popular girl in school, and your best friend.

Blueblood quickly flinches in embarrassment. “I-I was just saying how beautiful you are, and--”

“Oh, right. Yes, pretty, smart, friendly, is that basically the gist you were getting at?”

“Er… W-well…”

Finally, Vignette puts her phone away, folds her arms and looks sternly into Blueblood’s eyes, tilting her head with suspicious eyebrows. “I can see why you’d be interested in me. Not to brag, but I do take the best selfies out of anyone here at school. Plus, I could see myself doubling--no, tripling--my following if I started dating the nephew of the princess.”

“So, erm, does that mean you’ll go out with me?”

“Mmmm… No. Sorry, I had to think about that one for a minute, but I don’t think that the popularity boost would outweigh the fact that I’d be dating someone who I personally loathe on the inside. No offense, of course.”

Blueblood’s jaw drops, but Vignette doesn’t even notice. As soon as the words leave her mouth, she pulls out her phone and turns around, already answering probably 49 new messages while you follow behind her, slack-jawed from everything that just happened. Then, the two of you make it back into the school corridors, walking towards the exit while you hear everyone around you begin to whisper.

“Did you see what happened?”

“She’s so perfect!”

“She’s beautiful, talented, and popular!”

“She’s an angel!”

As happy as you are that people are saying such nice things about your friend, you can’t help but dig your fingernails into your palms. You’re happy to be friends with Vignette in the first place, and even happier that she views you as her bffbb (best friend forever but better), but the fact that she’s so tuned into her social media that she can’t even hear the people around her drives you a little crazy. You wish that just once someone would say all those nice things about you rather than about Vignette, even though as much as you hate to admit it, there really isn’t anything special about you.

This brings you to your current dilemma: how will you ever hope to marry a future billionaire if everyone is busy ogling your best friend?!

The two of you turn the corner, making the boys sweat in their Canterlot Prep uniforms. You can see their eyes travelling from her slender legs to her tight skirt all the way up to her perfectly coiffed hair. Those eyes should be looking at you! How are you even supposed to compete?!

Well, then again, Canterlot Prep is probably the most competitive school in all of Equestria. Only the elite of the elite can make it into this school. How did you even make it into this place again? Oh, yeah, your mom donated her entire life savings to the school so that you and your sister could have a fresh start in Canterlot after the stuff your sister pulled in Ponyville. Probably not best to bring that up right now.

Basically, it’s pretty safe to say that anyone who graduates from this school is going to be successful in life, which means that you only need one boy to notice you so you can have a cushy life where you’ll never have to worry about working! When you first enrolled here, you legitimately thought that all you’d have to do is pass your classes, not eat too many corndogs, and life would just work itself out somehow. Turns out, even after getting accepted into a school with an insanely competitive acceptance rate, you still have more competing to do.

“You didn’t mean what you said back there, right?” you ask Vignette while she continues to stare at the screen in her hand. “I mean, you’re not really gonna turn Blueblood down, are you?”

“Hmm?” she mumbles, lifting an eyebrow to acknowledge your question but still never turning her attention away from her phone. “Oh, no. He’s not my type. Sure, he may be rich, handsome and famous, but he’s kind of a douche. If I’m going to be taking my attention away from my friends and fans, I’d prefer they were actually fun to be around. Besides, wouldn’t you feel lonely being the third wheel all the time, Anon?”

You shrug your shoulders, your cheeks turning a faint shade of pink. “Actually, I was thinking, maybe you could find someone for me. That way, we could go on double dates and stuff.”

Suddenly, Vignette freezes with a gasp, holding out her arm to stop you where you stand. “Oh. Em. Gee. I just had the perfect idea!”

“You’re going to let me have Blueblood instead?!”

Vignette immediately turns towards you with an eyebrow raised judgingly, making your beaming smile suddenly begin to disappear. “What? No way! I’d never do that to my bffbb! I was just thinking that maybe we could go search for some real men somewhere outside of the school! Maybe cross-promote each other’s SnapGab feed, take a couple of selfies in a scenic location as the sun goes down, girl you know what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!”

“...I do?”

“Of course you do!” Your friend then begins to walk forward again confidently, her hips swaying with every step she takes. “We basically know all the guys at Canterlot Prep, so why not expand our horizons a little?”

You suddenly flinch, practically running to catch up with her as your body shivers anxiously. “Outside of the school?! Are you sure that’s such a good idea? I mean, there are so many good ones here already! Plus, they all seem like they’re going to go on to be really successful later in life.”

“Ugh. Really, Anon. You’re worried about how successful your boyfriend will be twelve years from now?”

“...Kinda…”

As shocked as Vignette seems from her tone, her face portrays a completely different image, her hands combing through her hair while she makes a duck face smile for her camera. Then, after a flash, she pulls her phone back down and begins typing while returning to her conversation.

“You need to relax a little, girl! Have some fun! The average relationship for high school students is only one to two years, after all. No need to worry about your future just yet.”

“...But that’s just an average, right? There are relationships that last forever, right?”

Finally, she pulls her face away from her phone to give you a stern look. “Anon, we are going out today and that is final. Honestly, I’d do just about anything to get your head out of whatever space you’re in right now. You’re totes giving off bad vibes right now.”

You cringe at the thought. You were honestly hoping that you’d be able to go home and stuff your face with more corndogs, and just the idea of giving that up to go boyfriend hunting doesn’t sound nearly as fun for you as it does for her. Just then, though, you come up with an excuse that just might be able to get you out of it!

“I can’t! I have to pick up my sister from school after this!”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot you have a sister. How come we never talk about her?”

“She’s… a handful.”

Vignette’s eyes then fall to the way your hands rub your arms uncomfortably, but thankfully she can read the mood enough to know that you’d much rather not go into the details right now. “What was her name again? Comfy Ray or something like that?”

“Cozy Glow.” Just saying it out loud makes a shiver run up your spine.

“Ah, right. Well, where are you picking her up? Maybe we could stop somewhere on the way there. Trust me, it won’t take more than a few minutes to get some DM’s in our inbox.”

You rub the back of your neck. “The park. Really, though, maybe we should forget about--”

“Anon, that’s perfect!” Vignette then brings her hand around your shoulders, pulling you in while she looks into the distance as if a movie screen were right in front of the two of you. “Just imagine it! Two cute girls taking selfies together when a couple of boys our age are there to pick up their own little siblings. Then, all of a sudden we need an expert photographer to take a couple pics for our feed--the pictures will probably all come out terrible. Never trust a man’s opinion when it comes to social media photos--but when we tell them that they take flawless snapshots, we get their info and suddenly we have a new side hustle, if you know what I mean. Hey heeyyyy!!”

The girl at your side throws in a wink, but you’re still scratching your head, trying to figure out a way to end this whole operation without coming off like a jerk. “So when you say side hustle, you mean we’re flirting with these boys on the side? Wouldn’t that necesitate having boys here that we’re already flirting with?”

By the time you finish your sentence, the two of you make it outside the school’s entrance, being hit by violent rays of sunlight that make the luscious gardens of the courtyard seem to glow. The students walking out all keep their heads high and shoulders raised, moving quickly as if they all have somewhere important to be. Even the marble statue out front was crafted by one of the most talented artists in all of Equestria, a donation from one of the many affluent alumni of Canterlot Preparatory Academy. This place is your comfort zone, and Vignette is asking you to take a leap of faith away from it.

Yeah, no thanks.

“Actually, I think I’m just going to get my sister and head home, if that’s alright.”

“That’s fine,” she replies with a shrug. “I hope you don’t mind me tagging along, though. Just because you’re not feeling adventurous today doesn’t mean I can’t test out the waters somewhere new.”

That’s so like her. She makes it sound like the whole purpose of coming with you is so she can flirt with boys, but you can tell that she’s really just coming along to keep you company in the meantime. She sends you a bright smile, and you can’t help but smile back. Even though you and Vignette don’t seem to share any of the same interests, you’re just happy that she decided to be friends with you.

“Sure,” you say with a silent chuckle. “Let’s go.”

“Is that a model?”

“You should go talk to her!”

“No way! You go talk to her!”

“What’s an angel doing in a place like this?”

You try to hide the grimace on your face. Before you even get to the park, people are already gawking at your friend, who either doesn’t hear all the people admiring her or is just ignoring them for your sake. Probably the latter. The worst part, though, is that there are actually cute boys here like she thought, and even though you want to be happy for your friend, you still feel a little jealous that nobody is talking about you. How are you supposed to have confidence when nobody seems to even realize that you exist when she’s around?

By the time you arrive at the playground, school has already been dismissed for the kids at Celestia’s School for Gifted Children. You can see kids running around in their school uniforms, playing on the monkey bars and going down the slides without worrying about how dirty they’ll probably be by the time they get home. Now you just have to scope out the area until you find the little brat that you came here for.

“Hey, miss!”

You and Vignette then turn your heads to see three boys approaching your friend, each of them with their phones out. “You mind if we take your picture?” the second guy asks. “Don’t worry! We’ll be sure to tag you!”

Vignette suddenly turns her eyes in your direction. She’d never just ditch you to take pictures with total strangers, but at the same time, it’s not like you can say no without sounding like a terrible friend.

“Go ahead,” you say, waving your hand. “I’m gonna go look for Cozy Glow.”

“Don’t worry, Anon. I’ll be back in a flash. Ha! Photo joke!”

“Heheh. Yeah.”

Then, you’re suddenly alone. She’s off doing exactly what she said she wanted to do, and you’re doing exactly what you said you wanted to do. Why, then, is it making you feel like crap? Why do you feel like you just got punched in the stomach when everything is going according to plan? What does the world possibly have to do to make you happy, just hand you everything you’d ever want? Come on, Anon! What do you want?

You sigh heavily, taking a seat on a nearby bench while scoping out the area again. Fortunately, it doesn’t take long to scope out a girl with curly blue hair and a light tan bow. Unfortunately, though, you see her talking to some girl about her age, and your anxiety suddenly starts to rise again. Most people would be happy when they see that their little sister is making friends, but if most people had Cozy Glow as a little sister, they’d probably go into panic mode too.

Just as you’re about to get up and put a stop to it, though, she looks in your direction and tugs on her new friend’s sleeve, pointing at you energetically. You wave politely, sitting back down while simultaneously trying to look casual. You’re probably doing a terrible job. You need to work on your self-confidence a little bit.

“Hey, sis!” Cozy Glow exclaims, dragging her friend along with her. “Guess what! I made a new friend today!”

“Oh, really?” you say through gritted teeth, turning your head to the girl at her side. She’s actually extremely pretty for her age, wearing adorable baby blue glasses that look two sizes too big for her underneath her silky, silver hair. She’s small and frail, as if she’s had someone taking care of her her whole life, which wouldn’t be unheard of considering that most kids who go to Cozy Glow’s school eventually make their way to Canterlot Prep. You can tell right off the bat, though, that your sister probably scouted this girl the moment she laid eyes on her, and she’s most likely just using this poor kid to increase her popularity score at school.

“Yuh-huh! She was super generous by helping me find my way around this new school. I know I’ve been here for almost two months already, but this school is so much bigger than my last one! I still get lost sometimes…”

Lying piece of--

“So this is the sister that I’ve heard so much about?”

You practically jump from hearing her voice. It’s got a gentle, soothing tone that carries with it its own blunt bite. She seems genuine enough, but your mind immediately backflips trying to think of all the crazy ways Cozy Glow has tried using your name to manipulate her.

“Yep!” you respond as calmly as you can. “That’s me! Cozy Glow’s big sister! Heheh… So, uh… W-what exactly have you heard about me?”

“Just that you’re the nicest, sweetest sister in the whole wide world!” your younger half says, giving you those stupid puppydog eyes. Even if you weren’t her sister, you’d know in a second how fake she’s acting, but the eyes of the girl next to her just grow wider in surprise, causing you to shrink nervously.

“Wow! She told me you were pretty, but you’re more beautiful than a princess! And you’re kind too? Are you an angel?”

What.

The.

Fudge?

Your mouth drops slightly, trying to make words come out, but unable to make any sounds other than baffled chuckles. At first you think this chick is playing some kind of joke on you, like she’s just part of one of Cozy Glow’s schemes to make fun of you, but while you laugh awkwardly, she never once changes her expression. She just looks up at you with those big, purple eyes, waiting for you to pull your head out of your butt and say something coherent.

“I… uh…”

“Oh, shoot!” Cozy Glow exclaims, pulling her friend’s attention away from you and giving you a second to breathe. “I left my bookbag back by the swings. I’ll be right back!”

Then, in a flash of dust, your sister races off the other way, leaving you and the schoolgirl to finish where you left off, and suddenly all that social anxiety comes right back to where it left off. You try to smile at the silver-haired girl, but you can tell that you’re doing a half-grin/half-cringe. What do you even say? Do you talk about yourself? Do you talk about Cozy Glow?

While you battle with yourself internally, though, the kid in the glasses breaks into a giggle fit, wiping a tear from her eye while the other hand reaches for her stomach. You tilt a curious eyebrow, but suddenly, you see her break out a smile, the same kind that Cozy Glow has when she’s trying to manipulate someone.

“Sorry,” she says once her laughter dies down. “I could tell that you’ve always wanted someone to say that to you. That’s your friend over there, isn’t it? The one getting her picture taken by those three boys?”

She points her finger towards Vignette Valencia and her entourage of admirers, making you squint your eyes in suspicion. “How…” you begin, slowly turning your face back towards the schoolgirl. “How did you--”

“I know how to read people. Also, you don’t need to worry about me being friends with your sister. I know she’s just trying to use me for popularity. Thanks for worrying about me, though.”

Again, you open your mouth to speak, but the words don’t seem to come out. Meanwhile, the girl in front of you grins femininely, projecting the same kind of confidence you’d expect from Vignette Valencia.

“Oh! My name’s Silver Spoon, by the way. You’re Anon, right?”

You shake your head and come back to reality. “Yeah. Sorry if I seem a little out of it right now. I’m just--”

“Surprised that a nine year old was able to figure out everything you’ve been thinking for the past five minutes?” You gulp and nod your head, further solidifying the confident smile on her face. “Cozy Glow should be back any second now, so why don’t you give me your phone number before she finds out?”

Your cheeks suddenly turn a bright shade of red. “My… My phone number?”

“Yeah. You seem like you’d be an interesting pet project. Plus it sounds like you need someone who you can talk to, since apparently you can’t even tell your friend over there everything you’re thinking about.”

You quickly glance over at Vignette again, and she’s so caught up in exchanging her own social media details that she must have forgotten all about you by this point. You don’t want to tell her that she’s right, but if you try and cover it up, you have a feeling she’d just be able to figure you out anyway.

Then, doing one more quick look around to make sure that Cozy Glow isn’t nearby, you hastily pull out your phone and hand it to the schoolgirl, who just as rapidly taps her way into your contact list and adds herself into your phonebook. She just barely manages to slide your phone back into your hand by the time that Cozy Glow seems to pop out of nowhere, smiling widely at the two of you.

“Hey, you two! Did ya miss me?”

“We sure did! Heheheheh.”

After seeing your uncomfortable expression, Cozy Glow turns towards Silver Spoon, who shrugs her shoulders apathetically. “O...K? Well, it looks like it’s time for us to get back home before our mom gets mad at the both of us. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, right, Silver Spoon?”

“Yup! Bye, Cozy Glow! Bye, Anon!”

You and your sister wave goodbye to the silver-haired schoolgirl and turn towards the direction of your house. Normally you’d at least tell Vignette that you were leaving, but she looks like she’s having way too much fun to be bothered right now. Besides, Cozy Glow has a point. Your mom really will be pissed if you aren’t home by four o’clock.

“I’m so glad that I’m already making friends at my new school!” your sister says as the two of you walk down the sidewalk together. “Doesn’t Silver Spoon seem nice to you?”

Hearing the name again instinctively makes you pull out your phone. You don’t know why, but you find yourself scrolling down to the newly-entered contact information, smiling softly as you see the name that comes up. Suddenly, though, you realize that Cozy Glow will get suspicious and immediately slide your phone back into your skirt pocket. “Y-yeah! I’m glad you’re making friends too.”

The words barely come out of your mouth by the time Cozy Glow tilts her head in confusion. “Wait. You are?”

Normally, no. Normally you’d be petrified by the idea of your sister trying to manipulate one of her classmates into helping her literally take over a school by binding the headmaster to his office chair and becoming the school’s de facto leader (what happens in Ponyville stays in Ponyville). Silver Spoon, though, is different.

Different from everybody…

Finally, you look at your sister and give her a big smile. “Yup! C’mon. Mom’s probably wondering where we are already.”

Steam fills the air around you, the only sound being a splash as your body falls into a tub of water, reverberating off of the room’s ceramic walls. It feels like so much happened today, even though it didn’t play out that much differently than how a normal day would turn out. You stretch your arms out high, relaxing your back as if it had been tight all day. Maybe you’re just looking for any excuse you can to relax after what’s been another long Monday.

Suddenly, though, you hear your phone buzzing from the countertop by the bathtub, glowing a light from its screen that displays one new message. Your eyebrow raises as you pick it up, seeing a surprise text from Vignette Valencia that reads, “OMG, Anon! I’m soooo sorry about ditching you back there! I totes didn’t think I would be that long. I’ll make it up to you with a frappuccino tomorrow morning, K?”

You chuckle quietly, slipping both arms out of the tub as you send her a message of your own. “Don’t worry. You’re fine. I can’t wait to hear all about those guys you met today.”

Once you hit the send button, though, the tension you were feeling before comes right back to your shoulders. This is so stupid! Why are you feeling stressed all of a sudden? It’s not like having Vignette leave you at the park was something that bothers you… right?

You roll your eyes with a sigh, slipping back into the tub with your phone still raised high in the air. Vignette really does deserve all the attention she gets. She works hard, she’s extroverted, she probably spends more time on her makeup than you do on your homework, and she’s genuinely a great person on the inside! Still, though, you’d be lying if you said you weren’t at least a little bit jealous, but that’s not exactly something you can talk with her about.

Then a thought suddenly comes into your mind, nearly causing you to drop your phone into the bathwater. You quickly open up your contact list, scrolling down until you see a name that wasn’t there the night before.

“Silver Spoon, huh?” you say to yourself aloud. You stare at the name for a good 30 seconds before you shake your head with a giggle. “Maybe messaging her the first day would be a little too fast.”

She’d probably ignore you and tell Cozy Glow not to bother her anymore… or would she? Maybe that’s just the anxiety talking. She wouldn’t get upset for you texting her after giving you her number specifically for that reason, right? Wait, why do you have anxiety again? She’s like nine years old. What do you care if she judges you or not?

You immediately pull up her number again and pull up the text menu, but right as soon as you’re about to begin writing your message, your thumbs freeze where they are. What exactly do you want to talk to her about? Vignette? Your sister? Her day? Your day?

You wistfully move your hand to place your cell phone back onto the countertop beside you, but suddenly, you bring the phone back to your face and type the first thing that comes into your head.

“Hey, it’s Anon. Just wanted to text you so you have my number.”

Aaaaand send. Finally, you can put your phone back onto the counter and slide yourself nose-deep into the bathtub, getting your well-deserved rest and relaxation. You did your part, you sent the perfect message, and now you get to enjoy--

Bzzzt!!

You pull your face out of the water to look back at your phone, surprised that she messaged you back so quickly, but to your surprise, she didn’t message you back. She’s calling you!

You immediately stumble forward, fumbling with your phone and catching it right before it can fall into the bathtub. After a quick sigh of relief, you hover your trembling finger over the green answer button, and after a slight hesitation, you swipe the button and slowly bring the device to your ear.

“Uh… H-hello?”

“I had a feeling I’d be hearing from you today.”

A wave of comfort suddenly washes over you upon hearing the soothing, high-pitched voice, and like the bath should have been doing this whole time, you can feel your whole body relax as your arms once again drape over the lip of the tub. “You did?”

“Well, part of me thought you’d get too scared and chicken out for the first day, but I knew I’d hear from you sooner or later.”

You giggle femininely. “You sure have me figured out, don’t you?”

“Well, duh!” The both of you share a laugh until an awkward silence suddenly fills the air of your bathroom. “So… What’s going on?”

“Do you mean like ‘What’s up’ or…?”

“No,” she replies. “I mean, what’s bothering you? You looked like you needed someone to talk to earlier, and there’s a reason you were thinking of me to send me a message in the first place. It’s obviously not something you can talk about with that friend from earlier.”

Your smile begins to disappear. With your chin now resting on the edge of the bathtub, you wait a few moments before you can think of what you can say back. “It’s… nothing, really.”

“Come on, Anon. If you can’t tell a grade school kid, who can you tell?”

Again, you wait a few moments, trying to think of a way you can ignore the issue until you finally breathe out a defeated sigh. “I guess I’m just jealous.”

“Jealous of…?”

“Everything! My friend is so pretty and popular! Get this! Today at school, Prince Blueblood actually confessed to her!”

“Shut up! You mean Princess Celestia’s nephew?!”

“Yeah! Can you believe that?!”

“So let me get this straight. Your best friend is dating actual royalty right now?”

“Oh, here’s the craziest part. She’s turned him down!”

“Are you kidding me?! How can you say no to someone like that?!”

“I know, right! I said the same thing!”

*Knock, knock*

“Sis? Are you talking to someone in there, or are you just going crazy for some reason?”

You quickly turn your face to your bathroom door and cover the microphone on your phone. “What do you want, Cozy Glow?”

“Mom told me to tell you to hurry up. She says you have homework and she wants to use the bathroom.”

You scoff, rolling your eyes. “Fiiine! Tell her I’ll be out in a minute.”

The next few moments are filled with silence before you once again hear a high-pitched voice on the other end of your phone. “So I’m guessing it’s about time for you to go?”

“Yeah… I’m sorry, Silver Spoon.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just text me if you feel like you need anyone to talk to, OK?”

A smile once again forms on your face, and without realizing it, you see yourself twirling your hair around with your finger. “OK! I’ll talk to you later, then. B-bye, Silver.”

“Good night, Anon.”

The next thing you hear is the tone of your phone disconnecting, and for some reason you can’t explain, you find yourself doing a little victory dance in the bathtub. Once you realize what you’re doing, though, you quickly pull the plug and begin drying yourself off. After you get yourself dry enough to where you’re at least not dripping anymore, you use your towel to wipe down the steamy mirror, and what you see surprises you.

Have you always smiled like that? You actually look kinda… pretty when you make that face.

You roll your eyes at your inner thoughts and get yourself into your pajamas, your towel wrapped around your hair as you make your way out of the bathroom. While you scurry your way to your room, however, you see Cozy Glow’s head sticking out of her own room, giving you a weird look.

“Who were you talking to in there?” she asks, to which you shake your head.

“Just one of my friends,” you reply with a smug smile, further solidifying your sister’s weird expression.

“In the bath?”

Then your smile suddenly falls down. “Why? Is that weird?”

“For you it is.”

“Well…” You break eye contact. “Maybe this is just a new me.”

“...OK, you’re weird. Anyway, I just wanted to see what you were doing.”

A small chuckle escapes your lips as your pat Cozy Glow on the head condescendingly. “Thank you for checking up on me, little sister. I’m going to my room now, so I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

“Fine,” she says, pushing your hand off of her head. “Just don’t play your weird music this late! Some of us actually do our homework around here.”

“Heh. Whatever you say.”

The sunlight hits down on you so hard that you raise your hand up to keep some of the violent light from burning your eyes. Canterlot is probably the most beautiful place in all of Equestria, getting more sunlight than almost anywhere else, but sometimes, you wish it weren’t quite so bright this early in the morning. You hardly got any sleep for some weird reason last night. You weren’t stressed or distracted or anything. You just kinda laid there, trying to fall asleep for hours with the same thoughts racing through your mind over and over again.

Before you can think about it too much, though, you feel a pair of arms suddenly wrap around your waist, making you almost fall forward before you catch your balance just in the knick of time. “Oh, Anon! I’m so sorry about yesterday!”

Then, turning your head backwards, you see Vignette pulling your hands off of your waist, holding up two coffees freshly brewed from the nearby cafe. Yes! Caffeine! That’s what you need right now!

“You have every right to be mad at me,” she continues as you grab one of the frosted drinks in her hands. “Go ahead. Say it. I’m a terrible friend!”

“Sluuuuurrp! Aaahhhhhhhh. You don’t have to be sorry. I’m not mad at you.”

“Oh, good! Because I have just got to show you who I met yesterday!”

In the next moment, Vignette whips out her phone while the two of you slowly make your way towards class, peering down at the screen in front of you while she goes over the photos in vivid detail. You’re only half-listening/half-drinking-the-coffee-as-fast-as-you-can while she talks all about the boys she met yesterday. Apparently they go to another private school not far from where the two of you attend, and their social media following has some big names that she’s heard of but never had the chance to meet. It’s actually kind of entertaining seeing how enthusiastic she is about the whole thing, making you inadvertently giggle to yourself in amusement.

Suddenly, though, she breaks her conversation and looks you in the eye. Shoot. Should you have kept that to yourself?

“Weeeeeellll,” she says with a smirk. “Sounds like someone’s in a good mood today. Did something happen yesterday that I don’t know about?”

“Not really,” you reply, shaking your head. “I just met someone.”

The words scarcely leave your mouth when she covers her mouth with a gasp. “Oh. Em. Gee. Tell me everything!”

“It’s nothing! Seriously.”

“Hmmmmmmm? It doesn’t soooouuund like nothiiiiiing. Actually, if you ask me, it sounds like somebody has a crush on that certain someone.”

You stop smiling.

“I have… a what?”

Vignette raises an eyebrow. “You... have a crush on someone, Anon.”

Again, once the word reaches your mind, you freeze completely, staring forward but not really looking at anything. Your heart starts beating faster, your shaky hands reaching up to your chest, and suddenly, you stop breathing. Then, the image in front of you changes from the hallway to the ceiling, along with a sudden pain hitting your back.

“Oh, dear! Anon?! Are you alright, sweetie?!”

The aching sensation from the fall doesn’t even bother you anymore. Your mind is too preoccupied with the new thoughts now racing through your mind like a freaking tornado.

“I…” you mumble. “I like her?”