Innocence

I could hear the sound of birds the next morning.  Their beautiful chirping and singing was a great was to start off the new day.  It was a happy sound, and it started me off with a smile.

The smile, however, turned into a look a shock on my face- at least, I can only imagine it did- when I had no idea where I was.  The ceiling was much higher than my house in Ponyville.  The walls were painted beige and had pillars in each of the four corners.  The window to the left of me went from floor to ceiling, and behind the clear curtains I could see a balcony.  The door was open, and upon looking down the hallway I could tell that this was an apartment.

I could feel something cuddled up against me, so I tried to remove the blanket, thinking that was what it was.  However, after ripping the blanket off, I noticed that there was a grey hoof on my chest.  The hoof led to a grey body.  I looked up the body, towards the pony's head.  It was Octavia, and she was resting her head quietly on my chest, just below my neck.  She held a smile while she still slept cuddled up against me.  I didn't remove her hoof or push her aside.  I loved the feeling of having somepony this close to me.

The first thought that came in my head, though, was, 'Oh great.  My first time, and I don't even remember it!'

Soon after, Octavia opened her eyes, looking up and directly into mine.  "Uh... hi," I said as soon as we made eye contact.

She replied, "Hi," back, but then closed her eyes.  She nearly instantly opened them back up, her pupils larger than ever, and she looked directly at me.

"Um, yeah," I could only reply.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no!  Notey, did we really?" she tried to ask.

"I'm pretty sure we did," I replied.

"Please forgive me, Notey.  I'm not like that, I promise!" she pleaded with me.  At this moment I pretty much knew that she was the one for me.  We both made this 'mistake,' which was actually a very pleasant surprise for me, but she was actually apologizing to me like she did something wrong.  There was just something about her that was special.  It was a certain something, but I couldn't really come up with the word.  There was a certain... innocence to her that made her really special in my eyes.

"Octy, I know you're not like that," I replied.  "But even if you are, I'm fine with it.  You're special, you know that?"

The mare cuddled up against me smiled at my compliment.  It must have meant something to her.  Perhaps she hadn't heard something like that for a long time.

We cuddled up against each other for quite a while.  In fact, I can't even remember how long we were together there that morning, but I really don't care.  Those two days were life changing for me, and I was never happier in my entire life.

But I remembered my question from the night before.  I really hoped that she would have an answer at this point.  I asked her, "Octy, what's your answer?"

"My answer for what?"

"Darling, will you leave this all behind to come join my band?"  She looked down when I asked this.  I knew it was a difficult decision, if fact, it would be one of the most difficult of her entire life, so I added, "I know it's a hard decision to make, and I will accept your answer, no matter what it is."

"Don't worry about it, Notey.  It's a hard decision, and I'm sorry to tell you this, but I have to say n- of course I'll go with you!" she replied with excitement.

My heart nearly sank when I thought she was going to say no, but her confident reply was the greatest thing I had ever heard in my life to date.  I felt like I was on a cloud, something that only pegasi could feel.  I felt that a moment like this would be attainable for me.  I instantly leaned forward, giving her a strong hug, and kissed her tenderly multiple times.

"Darling, I have one more thing to say to you," I started, looking in her eyes after I kissed her.

"What's that?"

"I know it's early, I know I've only known you for not even a whole day yet, but... I think I'm in love with you," I said to her.  It was the hardest thing I ever had to say in my entire life, but I also was never more sure of something before.  I really did love her, even though I had only known her for a day.  She was somepony that only comes around once in a lifetime, and I couldn't let her be the one that got away.

She looked me in the eyes and replied, "I think... I think I love you too."