Always By Your Side

by BronySonicFan

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, Izzy Moonbow, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Romance, Sunny Starscout, Slice of Life
Length: 1321

Izzy has feelings for Sunny, but she is willing to stay by her best friend's side, even if it hurts her to know that she is with somepony else.

Izzy has feelings for Sunny, something that is not reciprocated. But despite everything, she is willing to stay by her best friend's side, even if it hurts her to know that she is with somepony else...

Published 2024-10-16 18:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-10-16 18:00:00 UTC

Because I love you

It was confusing. Very confusing for me.

I was always very open with my ideas, and no matter how much they judged me, nothing made me change my mind, at least not so easily. However, when it comes to my feelings, it's another story.

When I felt sad or angry, I would hide it with a smile so that others wouldn't worry, only so that when I was completely alone I would let out my sadness or anger. I wanted others to see me as "Izzy, the optimistic unicorn no matter the circumstances" and not as a romantically unstable pony.

And yet, a strange feeling appeared in me when I met Sunny. At first I thought it was nothing, that it would pass soon. But when we put the crystals together and nothing happened, Sunny's disappointed face broke my heart. I didn't want to see her like that, from that moment on I hated seeing her like that. It was then that I understood what was happening to me: I had fallen in love with Sunny.

But why? Well... she was my first friend in life. In Bridlewood, I never really got along with other unicorns, mainly because of my optimistic attitude, which many of them found quite strange back then. But Sunny? She offered me help when the other Earth Ponies were terrified of me, even if I wasn't fully aware. As the trip progressed, the more I got to know her: She was optimistic, intelligent, very cute and dreamed of being friends with pegasi and unicorns. But I also knew that she was somewhat emotionally unstable, and that she got depressed easily.

Maybe that's why I started to fall in love, because even though she didn't have a horn, she and I weren't so different after all. And as the months passed, the feeling only grew and grew. I felt more and more hopelessly attracted to Sunny, and I wished with all my heart that she would notice me the same way I noticed her...

What a shame she doesn't like mares.

Whenever, for some reason or another, the topic of "love" came up when we talked, she would talk about how much she was interested in one stud in particular: Hitch. She always said how much she loved Hitch for having been the only pony to respect her regardless of her beliefs, plus they had known each other since they were foals.

When she asked me if I was interested in anypony, I always told her there was no pony in particular. A big lie that she believed, and that I hated to tell, but I don't stand a chance with her, why bother trying? And although she knew that I liked mares, she never thought that I had feelings for my friends. Another lie.

During the day, in the eyes of others, I was the same old Izzy. But at night, while everyone sleeps, I sneak away and look toward the horizon, where the starry night stretches to places we still can't see. As I watch the sea spread out, I let out the tears I'm holding back as I ask myself why I fell in love with a pony who only sees me as her best friend.

Maybe I was exaggerating and I was being a bit dramatic, more so than Pipp even, but... Was crying for a mare who only sees you as a friend and who is attracted to someone else, was exaggerating? I didn't know the answer, but I didn't want to know either, I just wanted to let out my pain and wait for the next day to feel better... but it never worked, because the pain was still there no matter how much I cried.

One of those many nights, I heard hoofsteps behind me, and I had to quickly dry my tears with my hooves.

"Izzy?" Zipp called out. "Are you okay?"

I turned around, put on my best smile, and nodded vigorously in her direction. I expected that to push her away, but instead she moved closer and she sat down next to me...

"Whatever is happening to you, let it go..." She said... Calmed?

Zipp was the most athletic of us, and the fact that she spoke softly and calmly was... very strange. I guess Pipp wasn't lying when she said her sister could read other ponies so well. I... for some reason, I couldn't hold back and the tears started coming again. I soon found me sobbing hard and I had to let it all out. I felt something on my back, and turned around to see Zipp's wing above me. I decided to bury my face in her shoulder, and she didn't flinch.

I let my tears fall, and Zipp didn't seem to care about the fact that I was soaking her fur. She didn't say anything, she just let me cry on her shoulder without questioning, for which I would be forever grateful. When I finally calmed down, I pulled away and wiped away the remaining tears with my hooves. I then decided to tell Zipp why I was crying, and she listened without interrupting me. When I finished, I felt a lump form in my throat, but I held back the urge to cry again.

Zipp said that she was not good at comforting others, but that she still believed that the best thing I could do was be there for Sunny. Even if she didn't love me back, she was still my friend, and what's better than supporting your friends and being there for them? I'm sure she said something else, but I stopped listening because I got caught up in my thoughts...it was true. She may not love me like I love her, but I will always be there for her, no matter what happens.

I rushed to hug Zipp, thanking her for her help, and she hugged me back. As my spirits had restored a little, I gave her a light kiss on the cheek and ran towards the Crystal Brighthouse. I quietly entered the room and settled into my bed, now much calmer than any other night, because I knew that, even though it hurt me to know that she didn't love me back, I would always be there for her.

The day Sunny came to me asking for help confessing to Hitch, however, the pain came back in droves. Because she asked me to practice, as if it were me she was proposing to, and everything she said she planned to say to Hitch hurt because...she wasn't saying it to me. But I remembered what Zipp told me, so I not only told her what to change, but also helped her. I rubbed salt in the wound, yes, but Sunny looked so... happy.

And that was what I wanted at the end of the day, for her to be happy, no matter what happened, no matter how much it hurt, I wanted to see her smile every day of my life. When we finished, she hugged me and thanked me. With some hesitation, I returned the hug.

Don't worry Sunny, I'll be always by your side.

THE END

Author's Note

Now it's time I apologize to all the StarBow shippers out there that read this story. :fluttershyouch:

I just like to explore concepts not so often seen. Many of the shipping stories in the platform end with the main ship becoming a reality, but very few show the "bad ending", where said ship doesn't sets sail because one of the parts of the ship is not in love with the other one.

I may explore this concept a whole lot more in the future, but until then, this is the last one-shot with this kind of plot I'll make in a while.

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks for reading! See ya! :twilightsmile: