> Anon felt out of place back home
>it was better in equestria, but for some reason it just wasn’t enough
>it felt like he swapped one flavor of lonliness for another
>at least he could talk to others here
>but it always felt like he had to hold back so much that he wasn’t even himself anymore
>all the ponies that ran around looked so care free
>now, it’s not that anon was some kind of edge lord
>he just had problems he wish he could solve or talk about
>the kind of problem where if you talk about it with someone they give dismissive advice
>’just believe in yourself’ or something along those lines
>and there was something about holding in his feelings that just ate away at him
>the magical feeling of being given a second chance at life already wore off
>there’s something incredibly heart wrenching about not only living one miserable life, but being given another only to see the same pattern play out again right in front of you
>but today was special
>Celestia invited anon to the castle
>no reason given
>just simply a “come to the castle at 2, (I have snacks and drinks)”
>of course anon would go
>he had nothing better to do
>not that he would have ditched her anyways
>as bummed out as he feels, hurting someone else's feelings would just make him feel worse
>and who knows, maybe some socializing could do anon some good

>When anon arrived at the castle he noticed it was quite empty
>”anon, is that you?” Celestia spoke
“Yeah, what’s up celly belly?”
>she giggled
>”how do you always come up with the funniest things to say anon?”
“Imagination i guess” anon said flatly
>”well, come to my room, I’ve got something to show you!”

>once they both arrive at her door she turns to him with a big grin
>”are you ready to be blown away anon?” she says eagerly
“As ready as I’ll ever be”
>she open the door to reveal a big stack of comics along with a bunch of plastic cups and two liters of soda and various boxes of snacks
>”told you there would be snacks” her smile beams at him
>all things considered, even anon was mildly impressed, her room looked /comfy/ as fuck
>celestia pulled her matress down onto the floor and signaled for anon to join her on it as she pulled the first comic off the stack
>”this here, is LIMITED EDITION!”
>she turns the comic towards him showing the front cover
>’superpone - the attack of the crowpone’
>”it’s a foreign comic anon, they don’t even sell these anymore!” 
>her excitement was displayed across her face as she pulled you closer and opened the page
>the first page was mostly just superpone walking around doing his regular job while wearing his regular clothes
>”superpone has to keep his identity a secret anon, that’s why he looks like that”
>as the comic progresses something explodes in the city and what looks to be crowpone, or at least anon’s assuming it is because celestia only looks at the pictures and turns the pages so fast, flying towards superpone and they have a fight in the air
>some dialog that he couldn’t read in time before she turned the page happened mid-fight 
>crowpone seemed to make an escape and superpone let him go but you probably could have figured out why if CELESTIA WOULD STOP TURNING THE PAGES SO FAST
>not that you were angry, you were more focused on the /comfy/ than the content of the comic
>but something interesting happened near the end
>a page with far more dialog than usual with superpone laying on his bed staring at the ceiling
>”aaaannnnnddd that’s it anon!”
“Wait wait, hold on go back to that page celly”
>”but why? That’s the boring page, i already have the next one-”
“Celestia please, can i just read it?”
>”alright, I can actually prepare some snack bowls while you finish it, I’ll be right back!”
>she trots off leaving you alone with just the comic
>anon flips back to the scene with superpone staring at the ceiling on his bed
>*sometimes, when i lay awake at night, I think about how lonely it is living a lie*
>*pretending im just some normal pony when i have this whole other side to me*
>*it doesn’t get any easier, my friends, my coworkers, they just think of me as clark*
>*even when they’re nice to me it feels fake, it’s not their fault, but it’s getting so difficult to hide this side of me and im not sure how much more of it I can take*
>*but it’s what’s best for everyone*
>the scene ends with superpone falling asleep
>as anon closes the comic he feels a sense of vulnerability
>never once did he think anyone on this planet could even think about how you felt
>it’s such a… weird feeling…
>it’s not depressing or dark
>it’s just… new…
>anon heard celestia coming back so you set the comic down and picked out the next one
>”anon I got both-”
>she drops everything the second she looks at him
>”ANON WHAT HAPPENED???”
>she gets face level with you before you could say anything
>”anon tell me, are you okay?”
>you so thrown off by her over the top reaction it took him longer than normal to respond
“Y-yeah, I’m fine celly, is everything alright?”
>”don’t lie anon, I can see the tears”
>tears?
>he blinks a few times and feel a drop roll down
>aw hell this is stupid
>he feel like a total bitch for tearing up over something that dumb
>celestia pulls you into a big hug
>”It’s alright anon, was it the comic?”
“Nono, it’s just something stupid, I probably have something in my eyes”
>”anon it is NOT stupid, you’re sad and I can’t just sit back and let you suffer”
“No seriously celly, it’s really nothing”
>”ANON, nothing doesn’t make you cry”
“Look celly you’re overreacting, let’s just get back-”
>she lets go of anon and grabs the comic he was reading moments ago
>”what was it that made you cry anon, let me read it”
>anon gently tries to prevent her from reading it, doing his best to not cause any damage to the comic
“Hey hey, come on celly belly it’s not a big deal alright, let’s just read the next issue”
>”NO, why are you fighting me on this anon, I just want to help!”
“Look i was just being stupid, don’t worry abou-”
>”I’M TIRED OF YOU SAYING THAT!!!” she shouts louder than she meant to
>”...”
>”just… let me see it, the page you read…”
>he didn’t have any other choice but to let her read it
>she lays on the mattress opening the comic to the last page
>”get over here” she says sternly
>he obliges
>she scoots herself as close to him as she can as she reads over the page
>he opts to look around the room in an anxious manner
>when she finishes the page she closes the comic and turns to him
>”why did this make you sad anon? Did you feel bad for him or something?”
“No not really”
>”then what was it anon?”
>he can’t really come up with a solid answer for that
“Im not really sure celestia, like I said it’s probably nothing”
>she stares at you unconvinced
>but right after she looks to the side and thinks
>she sighs before she speaks
>”I was planning on showing you this before you left but i guess now is really the best time”
>she grabs a comic from her closet in a seemingly secret spot
>she lays back on the mattress as close to you as she can, the heat radiating onto you
>”do you promise not to make fun of me…?”
“Of course, you’re the only real friend I have celly belly, I could never”
>she closes her eyes and lets out a big sigh
>”alright… is it okay if we read this?”
>she presents the comic to you
>’I want a coltfriend’
>anon looks back at her and she has difficulty maintaining eye contact
“Of course, I could read a whole dictionary if I was with you celly belly”
>he gives her a soft smile and she blushes
>”oh come on, nopony could read a dictionary, those things are way too boring”
>she flips open the page and begins reading
>the plot seemed to revolve around this mare who always tries to get the attention of this aloof stallion who doesn’t talk much
>celestia takes an extra long time reading every page this time around
>as the story went on she stopped on the page where the stallion left the mares house after working on a school project
>she had this speech bubble with three dots as if she was planning on telling him something before he left but didn’t have the courage to do so
>as he shut the door and left she burst into tears
>the last panel showed her crying with a letter that had a heart drawn on it
>after celestia closed the comic she turned to anon with tears in her eyes
>”I think I understand now anon…”
>”you weren’t being stupid”
>”you just finally saw how you felt right in front of you and it hurt didn’t it…”
>you were at a loss for words, you couldn’t think of anything proper to say
>but it didn’t matter because she pulled you into the biggest hug you’ve ever had
>”anon you don’t have to feel that way anymore”
>she hiccups between her sentences
>”stay with me okay… in the castle…”
>”I know how you feel now anon, just please let me be there for you from now on okay?”
>there was an intense feeling of negative emotion draining from you when you heard her words, a sense of belonging that you have been so desperately waiting for
>”and… one last thing anon…”
>”will you my coltfriend?”

>Reading comics with Celestia became a routine for anon from then on