"N-no…" I breathed out, unsure of what to say.

It was the bus ride home, and it had undoubtedly been a quiet one. Ryan was asleep next to me, and the girls were all scattered amongst the backseats talking about the school day or starting on their homework . I was sitting in the back corner, burying myself in the safety of my phone

Except, there was a lot more going on this time.

"Are…are you sure?" I texted Liz- still a little hope left in my heart.

"Like I said, I'm not 100% sure but…," she texted back, "She was talking about it on Friday… I'm so sorry, Olly. If you never need me to rant or just hang out or something, I'm here."

"Thanks, Liz :)," I texted back slowly, "You're the best."

I turned myself toward the window a bit so no one on the bus could see my face. That day… the past couple weeks, even- I couldn't quite remember. I had noticed Julia acting really strange. In a desperate attempt to find out what was going on, I asked Liz if Julia was planning on breaking up with me. And as it turns out…

"Olly?" I suddenly heard a voice ask, "Are you okay?"

I jumped a bit and my head jerked over to Gabby, who apparently had been trying to get my attention for a while now.

"Olly… are you crying?" she asked, her eyes widening.

I quickly rubbed the moister from my eyes as to get rid of the evidence before anyone else could look over, "No, why?"

"Oh… it just looked like," she started to stutter.

Just then, the bus pulled into the parking lot where we got off. I sighed in relief and quickly exited the seat, jumping over Ryan effortlessly as I did so. I landed on my bad foot a bit, but I completely ignored it as I roughly grabbed my backpack and hopped off of the bus.

"Olly! Wait fer us!" Applejack shouted from the top of the stairs, grabbing her backpack as well.

I took a long, deep breath. I just needed to stay calm for a little while, then I could retreat to my room and get over this. All six girls stepped off of the bus, each one with a casual smile on their face. Funny how when you have no idea, you can always be happy.

"Okay, let's go," I said quickly without thinking, and started racing down the path home.

"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Kendall shouted as she stepped off of the bus, "Dude, slow down. Your leg."

I didn't have time to deal with this right now. It was only a matter of time before I broke down. I slowed my pace just a bit so she'd stop bugging me, and I continued on my way.

"Olly, seriously," Kendall said, not sounding amused anymore, "You need to slow down."

I turned back to look at her, a stone expression on my face. A few of the girls raised their eyebrows, and Kendall just took a step toward me, a bit softer than she did before.

"You okay…?"

I took a breath and nodded a barely noticeable nod. Without another word from anyone, I turned back around and continued walking at the same pace I was before. I heard a bit of whispering going on behind me, but I didn't pay attention.

We came to Kendall's turn, and I felt her put a hand on my shoulder, "You gonna be okay?"

I sighed again, "Yea."

She still looked concerned, but she simply hugged me anyway. Then she flashed the girls some kind of look, and we separated towards our own houses.

Finally, we got back to my house. As soon as we got in the door, I wasted no time running up to my room, not bothering to give the girls any kind of explanation. The second my door was closed, I broke down. I paced around my room, letting tears run unchecked down my face. I couldn't think of anything to say other than:

"Damnit," I started whispering to myself, "Damnit, Damnit."

After about an hour of this, I was reduced to crying into my pillow. Barely giving myself enough room to breathe between sobs, I continued to curse in the same pattern as before.

"B-bunny?" I heard a voice. I immediately stopped crying and looked up to see Pinkie standing in the doorway, a shocked look on her face.

I wanted to say something, tell her I was okay or something, but another sob escaped my throat and I fell back down onto my pillow.

"Bunny…" she said softly, "What's the matter?"

"She… she…" I tried to say. I couldn't get the words out in time.

"No, hey, come on," Pinkie sat on the bed next to me, "It's okay, come on, it's gonna be okay."

I shook my head, still wishing I could get the message to her. An orange glow came from my backpack and a loud Skype noise filled the room. Pinkie reached over to my bag and pulled out my computer.

"I-it's Robby," she said, still in a state of bewilderment.

I grabbed the computer from her and looked at the message, "Hey man, Kendall said something was wrong. Are you good?"

I took a hard swallow and began to type back to him, "She's going to break up with me, man."

There was a long, strange silence in the room as Pinkie read the message. She looked over at me in sheer surprise. She suddenly stood from the bed and walked slowly out of the room, most likely going to seek guidance from the others. I heard the Skype noise again and I looked down at my computer.

"I'm coming over," he said, and logged off before I could say anything else.

I turned to my pillow again, continuing my routine from before Pinkie walked in the room. Thinking back on it, I had really never seen her so quiet before. It was really strange. I hope I didn't do something to upset her…

Another wave of flashbacks with Julia hit me, and I began to cry even harder. Before I even knew it, I heard the doorbell ring from downstairs. I was about to get up to get it, but I heard him coming up the stairs. Somepony must've been waiting by the door.

"Olly…" Robby barged in my room.

He threw his arms around me, and I did the same. Neither of us could really think of anything to say. We just sat there, staring off in the distance, every so often reaching up to wipe tears off of my cheeks. I looked out my window and stared longingly at his beat-up car.

"You want to get out of here?" he asked suddenly. I nodded without a word.

We made our way downstairs to be met with all six girls, shocked to see the both of us infront of them. We all just stared at eachother for a bit, until Robby decided to speak up, "You guys going to be okay by yourselves for a while?"

Most of them nodded solemnly, but then Twilight stood from her place at the table, "I'd like to join you this time."

Robby raised his eyebrows, and then glanced down at me as if asking for my permission. I was too drained to think about it too thoroughly, so I just nodded and started out the door. Robby shrugged and motioned for Twilight to follow.

Robby started his car and began driving. As far as I knew, he had no idea where he was driving to, and I didn't mind. We all sat in silence, doing nothing but driving in a random direction.

"So… where are we going?" Twilight decided to ask. I flinched a bit.

"No idea, to be honest," Robby replied, not taking his eyes off of the road. He looked over to me, probably hoping to get some sort of suggestion, but I didn't bother responding.

"Ah," he suddenly breathed out, and turned the wheel sharply into a parking lot.

"You guys stay here," Robby said, getting out of the car, he turned to Twilight, "I know what Olly wants. I'll just get you the same."

She nodded and watched him out the window. I turned to see that we had pulled into the parking lot of our local icecream place. I smiled a bit, but then felt another pain in my chest. I continued staring out into the distance.

"Does… this kind of thing happen in Equestria?" I asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" Twilight seemed surprised to hear my voice, "What kind of thing?"

I sniffed, "When ponies think they've found their true love… is there ever a breakup? I've read fanfiction about heartbreak in Equestria… but the show makes it seem like that kind of thing never happens."

"Well… sure it does," Twilight said slowly, trying to comprehend my question, "I mean… did you see how hurt Spike was when Rarity found another colt she liked?"

I slowly nodded, not really knowing what to reply. She waited for an awkward second, and then continued, "Heartbreak is a very important part of life. If it wasn't, it probably wouldn't happen. But it makes ponies stronger, and helps ponies to realize who's really right for them."

I didn't speak for a while, "She… was everything to me. She was exactly the kind of person I wanted in my life."

"Who knows," Twilight shrugged, "Maybe she'll still be a part of your life. I'd be surprised if you two just stopped talking altogether."

I didn't say anything after that. I didn't want to admit it, but that would be extremely hard to get used to. Then again, it's not like I talked much when she was around anyway…

A little while later, Robby came back to the car and handed me a watermelon slushie. I took a long sip, not really caring how sour it was. I saw Twilight flinch from the about of syrup, and I nearly smiled.

"Want to go to the playground over there?" Robby asked, pointing to the nearby elementary school. I thought for a minute, and joined him outside the car. Twilight followed closely behind.

"Let's sit on the lizard," Robby laughed, trying to get us back into our old mood. There was a stone lizard with a stupid face sticking out of the ground. I sat down on it's head, which signaled the other two to sit down as well.

This moment was most likely the most awkward in my entire life. The three of us, sitting on a stone lizard, not saying a single word to eachother. We just sat and stared off into the distance, not sure what to do. It lasted for nearly ten minutes. Every so often, I let out a soft cry, but tried to keep them in my throat as best I could.

"Has she done it yet?" Robby asked all of a sudden.

I shook my head, "That's the worst part… I don't know when it's going to happen. Honestly, I feel like once it happens, I won't feel so bad about it."

"Anticipation is the worst," he agreed, gulping down more of his slushie.

"And…," I didn't want to talk about it too much, but I couldn't help it right now, "I still feel like this little bit of hope, you know? That if it doesn't happen today… maybe somehow I could convince her to not do it. Somehow…"

Robby shook his head, "I know what you mean but… I would just leave it alone."

A few more tears hit the ground, but I nodded all the same. I wasn't an idiot. I needed to accept what was going to happen and move on with my life.

"Want to go to the mall?" Twilight suddenly suggested.

Everyone just stared at her for a second, and then I shrugged and started walking back toward the car.

I take what I said earlier back: this moment was the most awkward in my life. The three of us were just walking around the mall. No clear destination in mind, completely unsure of what we wanted to do. We just walked.

I was starting to feel a little better. It had been long enough that I was beginning to come to terms with it. Still though, I was completely unsure of what to do next. Doing something fun just felt so out of place. Suddenly, my phone started ringing. I cursed under my breath to see Julia's picture flash on the screen.

"Do… you want to answer it?" Robby asked.

"Not really," I instantly replied, declining the call, "If she tries again, I will."

We walked for a few more minutes, and then I heard my phone ringing again. Never had the Gypsy Bard felt so painful to hear. I cursed under my breath again and slowly answered the call.

"…Yea?" I answered. Instantly regretting sounding in such a bad mood.

"Hey… wait, where are you?" Julia asked.

"The mall," I answered simply, "With Robby and Tw… Tara."

"Oh… is now a bad time?"

"It's fine," I took a deep breath, "What's up?"

"Okay… so… you may have noticed because I've been acting like such a dingus lately but… I just…," I heard her voice beginning to crack a bit. I flinched, my care for her still not vanishing, "I think… I think we should just be friends."

She instantly burst out crying. I didn't say anything. What could I say? I had already cried a great deal earlier, so it was a little hard to cry along with her. But what was there to say to her?

"Okay…" was the only quiet whisper that made it's way out of my mouth.

She went on to try an explain her reasoning in between her loud sobs. I could barely understand any of it, but I concluded a few points from it. She felt extremely bad. She just didn't feel anything romantic toward me anymore. She still really cared about me and really wanted to be friends with me. I was a terrific person and she didn't want to lead me on…

"Okay…" was the only thing I could mutter out again.

I let her cry for a little while. It was a moment that felt like forever. She just sat there and cried, and I could do nothing but listen to it. It was the most painful experience of my life.

"Do you… have anything you want to say?" she asked quietly.

There was a long pause, "Not… really," I choked out.

She just went back to crying, and I wanted nothing more than to go over to her house and be with her. Even if we weren't together, I couldn't bear to hear her that upset.

"I'm so sorry," she started to say again, "I really would love to be friends with you."

"Okay…" I continued my pattern.

"O-okay," she sobbed out, "Goodbye, Olly."

Those words are probably the thing that hurt the most. I could feel an insane pain rising in my chest, and my throat closed up again. But I kept my cool. I took a deep breath, "Goodbye, Julia."

I hung up the phone and looked up at my other two friends, "There it is…" I sighed.

Robby put his arm around me, "You did good, kid."

I nodded silently, and we continued to walk around wordlessly. I sent a couple of texts to people, letting them know what had happened, and I sent a long one to Julia just clearing up some things that I wasn't in the emotional state to say out loud.

After I had sent that text, we walked over to the food court and towards the doors out. None of us really wanted to leave yet, though, so we really had no idea what we were doing there. Robby simply laid down on the floor in front of the carousel, and I joined him.

"Do you know how much I love laying on floors?" he asked loudly and out of place. At this I couldn't help but laugh.

"Almost as much as me?" I asked.

He smiled, and we laid there in silence for a while. Twilight stood over us, completely unsure whether or not she wanted to lay with us. I'm pretty sure she was thinking about all the potential germs on the mall floor, but I didn't even care. For some reason, this was making me feel a lot better.

"After this," Robby started, "We should go back to my place and play video games."

I agreed with him, and we continued to lay in silence. Every so often, Robby would say something random and I would laugh, causing the both of them to smile. After a long time, we finally decided to get up and head over to Robby's house.

"Do you have that South Park game downloaded?" I asked Robby as we stepped in the door of his extremely small house, "I have the download code if you want it."

"Awesome," he said, "We can go download it now."

The three of us piled into his extremely small room, and looked up at his large computer screen. He had built his computer himself, and his monitor was at least eighteen inches.

"It's gonna take a while to download," he scratched his head, "Want to play Skyrim?"

"Sure!" I beamed, suddenly in a much better mood. Twilight looked at me questioningly, and I decided to explain the game to her.

"If you really think about it, Skyrim is a lot like Equestria… except… more humans instead of ponies. Oh, and people kill dragons a lot. But there's a lot of the same wildlife."

Twilight seemed genuinely interested in the game as we started it up. I wasn't positive about the PlayStation controls, I was a Nintendo kid, after all, but I managed to get things moving enough that the game was at least enjoyable.

The clock struck nine, and we decided that it was about time for Twilight and I to head home. We piled in Robby's car again and drove the extremely short distance.

"Thanks, man," I said to him before exiting the car. He smiled, "Don't mention it, kid."

As he drove away, Twilight and I simply stood in my driveway. There had been a few points throughout the night where I would feel my throat close up, but I was fine other than that.

"Are you okay to go in?" Twilight asked me softly. I nodded with a smile.

"I think I'm going to be okay, Twilight. I might complain about it for a few days but… I think I'm going to be okay."

She smiled, "Good. Let's get inside. I bet you're super emotionally drained."

I chuckled a bit, "You have no idea."

I felt extremely groggy as I woke up the next morning. Pinkie Pie didn't come in with her normal high-pitched squeals; she just softly approached my bed and prodded me awake. I looked up at her, feeling the bags under my eyes.

"Pinkie…" I groaned out, my voice still not prepared to wake up, "I… I don't think I'm going to school today."

She seemed shocked at this, "Are… are you sure?"

I nodded, "Yea, I'm sure. I can't… I can't handle seeing her yet. Give me one day. I'll be back on my feel tomorrow."

She looked unsure, but nodded all the same, "Okay, Olly… I'll tell the others that you're staying home today. Do you want any of us to stay home with you?"

I shook my head, "No, no you guys need to go to school. You can't stay home because of me. It's okay, I'll see you guys when you get home."

"Okey dokey lokey…" she said quietly.

With that, I turned over to go back to sleep. I had never been so tired before, but I was glad I had good friends like them to count on for something like this.

I'm so sorry this chapter was so short. See, it was an extremely hard chapter for me to write, but I needed to get it out of the way eventually. It just isn't something I could just leave out. But now that it's over, I can go back to writing this story with a passion. Thanks!