No Need to Hesitate

Vinyl didn’t come into work on Thursday. In a way, Octavia was relieved. She wouldn’t have known what to say to the unicorn if she had. She was thankful that the station manager didn’t ask her about Vinyl’s whereabouts, but simply told her to start the show. But as Octavia greeted and attempted to entertain her listeners, she was suddenly confronted by an inescapable sense of hollowness. It wasn’t the stabbing, rending pain that had gripped her the night before as she watched Vinyl disappear into the dark. But it was more pervasive, insidious. She felt it in her every movement and every word, in everything that surrounded her. Every time she spoke, she was surprised not to hear her co-host’s ringing laughter interrupting her, or her crude jokes derailing her monologue. She kept thinking of jokes and stories to offer the crowd. But without Vinyl, they all fell flat. It was worse, even: deep down, she didn’t even feel like saying them. In the end, she could think of nothing to do but play her way through Vinyl’s favorite sets, waiting in silence for the gaps between them when she would have to struggle for words to say to the unseen masses, without another voice beside hers.

Octavia sincerely felt it was the worst day of her life, and it didn’t end when her job did. The oppressive emptiness followed her home. It smothered her as she sat alone, the soft tones of her records offering none of their usual comfort. It wasn’t the loneliness that burdened her as she stared blankly at the ceiling. Loneliness had been her companion for days while she and Vinyl had been fighting. It was different now. Her mind kept returning to that moment, replaying Vinyl’s confession again and again.

“I know from the moment I fell for you how that would end,” the words echoed inside her. “How long could somepony like me honestly hope to keep somepony like you interested? Gods forbid you spend any time around her or you’ll go out of your mind.”

“Oh Vinyl,” Octavia sighed as her eyes slowly drifted shut. Later, she retired to her bed, but rest was difficult to find.

When Vinyl didn’t show up for work the next day, Octavia knew that she had to do something. Whatever Vinyl believed, Octavia did love her. She had for longer than she had admitted it to herself. As she set the first record spinning, she began to work through her plans. She didn’t know if she’d be able to reach Vinyl. She’d heard the hurt in the unicorn’s words, and she’d been on the wrong end of rejection more than once. Maybe Vinyl never would allow herself to believe that the earth pony loved her.

‘I can’t just leave her alone without trying,’ she told herself as she planned and rehearsed her words in her head. ‘If there’s any chance I can make her understand… A doomed effort is better than no effort.’

She spent the rest of the day rehearsing like this, repeating her lines again and again in her head during songs and commercial breaks. So, when she approached Vinyl’s house that night, she had a pretty good idea of what she was going to say, even if she didn’t know what Vinyl would say back. Taking a moment to try and prepare herself for anything, she knocked on the door. After a moment of silence, she knocked again.

“Vinyl?” she called through the door. “Vinyl, it’s Octavia. Are you in there?” She thought she heard sounds from inside. Pressing her ear to the door, she heard somepony scrambling and muttering curses inside. A moment later, the door swung inward, and Vinyl stood in the doorway, her tinted sunglasses resting on her face.

“Hey, Tavi,” the unicorn greeted her cheerfully with a smile. “Figured you’d come around here eventually. I kinda thought it might be tomorrow, but the sooner the better.”

“I had the same thought,” Octavia said softly. She liked to believe that she knew Vinyl well enough to recognize the signs of emotional strain in her no matter how well the unicorn hid them. That said, the signs weren’t hard to spot. The mare’s mane was a frazzled mess of knots and stray hairs. Her coat was completely ungroomed, sticking up in tufts and lacking any of the luster it usually bore. Her back arched and her whole body slouched, as if she was completely exhausted. Octavia called on every ounce of self-control she had to resist throwing her forelegs around her love and hugging her close. She knew that the only chance she had was to be cautious.

“Well, come on in,” Vinyl motioned, turning and leading the way into the darkened house. “I’d offer you a drink, but I think I’m actually out.”

“You’re out of all of it?” Octavia asked in surprise, more than a bit of concern reasserting itself in her mind.

“Eh, I kinda spilled some of it. Clumsy accident, but you know me, right?” She added quickly, “Come to think of it, you should probably stay out of the kitchen entirely. No big deal, just steer clear.”

Octavia squinted her eyes and peered around the darkened apartment. “Vinyl, it’s pitch black in here. Why are you wearing your sunglasses in the dark like this?”

“Oh come on, Tavi,” Vinyl replied with a smirk. “All the cool kids are doing it. Ow! Mother f-“ she cursed as she collided with some unseen obstacle. “Of course, all the cool kids have skin injuries, but if that’s the price of being cool, sign me up.”

“I see. Listen, Vinyl, I wanted to-“

“Yea, yea, hang on a second,” Vinyl’s voice hushed her from the darkness. A moment later, there was the sound of a switch flipping, and several lamps lit up the room with a dim glow. The far side of the room was still cloaked in darkness, but she could still see the deplorable state much of the apartment was in. Chairs were tipped over and scattered across the room. A half-finished bagel and a carton of take-out were left on the dining table, the latter having tipped over, slowly dribbling its contents onto the surface. Several bottles of very high-proof alcohol lay empty around the table and the floor, and she thought she could see shards of broken glass leading off into the darkness towards the kitchen. The urge to go to Vinyl’s side immediately arose stronger than ever, and it took all of her resolve to beat it down.

“There we go,” Vinyl said as she turned back towards Octavia. She made no acknowledgement of the room’s appearance. She waved towards a wall to her right, and Octavia followed her gaze to see a shoebox resting on the floor. “I put all of your stuff in there. There, uh, wasn’t that much of it. Guess you didn’t really leave much lying around, being so tidy and all.”

“I see,” Octavia whispered, turning her attention back to the unicorn. “That’s…”

“I know, I probably left a lot more stuff at your place,” Vinyl said, putting a hoof to her forehead. “I’ll come by tomorrow and pick it all up if you want. Or you can just bring it here. I mean, assuming you haven’t thrown it all in the creek by now, or given it to orphans or something…”

“Vinyl…” Octavia said softly, trying to interject.

“Which would be cool, you know, cause orphans don’t really get many nice things, and I’m sure the stuff I left behind was nice. And they could really use some better music-“

“Vinyl,” Octavia interrupted her more firmly. Vinyl finally fell silent, still staring at the small box against the wall.

“Sorry,” she muttered. Octavia shook her head slowly.

“Vinyl, I didn’t come here to pick up my stuff. I came here to talk to you.” That got Vinyl to turn back towards her. The hardness of the unicorn’s stare was palpable even through her glasses.

“I think we’ve talked enough, Tavi. I’m good on that, thanks.”

“Okay!” Octavia assured her quickly. “Okay, you don’t have to say anything. I won’t ask you to say or do anything. I’m done with that. I just want you to hear what I have to say. And then I’ll go, if you still want me to.”

Vinyl didn’t say anything. After a long pause, she sat on her haunches. Octavia took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, remembering the words she’d prepared.

“Listen, what you said to me the other night: I understand. I know that ponies have hurt you. They didn’t respect you, and they didn’t care about you like you deserve. And I’m sorry. I wish I could change any of that, but I can’t. All I can do is tell you that I love you. Really and truly love you.”

Vinyl gave a quiet snort. “If I had a bit for every time I heard that, I’d be buying some way better booze.”

“I know. But I promise you, this is different. I’m different. Vinyl I care about you, about who you really are.”

“You won’t. You’ll spend too much time around me and then one day you’ll just get sick of it.”

“No, Vinyl, that’s not true-“

“It’s always true!” Vinyl cried. “It always happens, Octavia. Once you figure out who I am, it’ll just be the same thing all over again. I can’t… not from you. I just can’t take that from you.”

Octavia let the silence settle before she pressed on. “Vinyl, I already know you. I’ve known the real you ever since we started working together. I knew immediately that the pony you acted like was exactly the pony you wanted to be. That’s when you were at your happiest.”

“Then it’s already happened, huh?”

Octavia tried to speak her next words delicately. “When we first met, yes, at the time you annoyed me. You know that. But the more time I spent with you, and the more I got to know you, the more I realized that I was happy to be around you. I liked your insane stories, and the way you’d go off on tirades, or go running drunk through the park at night. I didn’t admit it to myself at first, because I always thought that kind of behavior shouldn’t be encouraged. That it was bad for your health. But when I was finally honest with myself, I realized that those things made me happy. I liked watching you be the way you are, and I liked- I loved sharing those experiences with you. And I loved you for it.”

Vinyl was silent this time, still staring at the floor. Octavia could practically feel her cracking. She was so close. She closed her eyes and spoke slowly.

“Do you remember the night we went to see my friend in Canterlot? After we spoke with her and her ensemble for a few minutes, I said we should get going, and we left. Do you know why I wanted us to leave, even though we’d just met up?”

“You probably didn’t want me to break down and make a scene in front of your sophisticated chums, right?”

“No,” Octavia gently rejected the predicted response. “I wanted us to leave, because I knew that you were trying very hard to be well behaved for my sake. And I knew that a part of you hated being that way – hiding who you are for the sake of appearances. And I didn’t like seeing you that way. As much as I wanted to see my friend, what I wanted even more than that was for you to be on your terms. I just wanted to eat donuts with you, and watch you make smiley faces at me with the pieces. I wanted to be with the pony who always made me laugh, even when I didn’t think I needed it. Who I could drink with, and shout with, and conspire with. Who I could always trust with my darkest, most secret feelings.”

“Vinyl, I didn’t fall in love with you in spite of who you are. I love you because of it.” She paused, hoping that the words would sink in before she finished. “And I’m sorry if you can’t believe that, but I understand. I only hope that one day you’ll be able to see yourself the way I see you.”

Her words spoken, Octavia stepped back. She watched Vinyl in silence, waiting for any sign of response. But Vinyl only turned her back and faced the floor leading into the shadows. Octavia hung her head. Recognizing she could say no more, she crossed the room and retrieved the box of her possessions, balancing it on her back. She gave Vinyl one more glance, but the unicorn hadn’t moved. With defeat settling into her stomach, she turned towards the door and walked, hoofsteps echoing in the silence. She had reached the door mat, seconds from the precipice, when Vinyl finally spoke.

“Wait.” Her voice was small, but still it spoke. Octavia froze in place, and slowly turned back to face Vinyl. The unicorn held her sunglasses in her hoof. Her eyes were red and swollen, and dark circles were etched underneath them. They stared at her, shrunken in panic and wavering in uncertainty. Octavia spun in place towards her. She once again resisted the urge to rush to her side and hold her, but she couldn’t stop herself from slowly moving closer.

“Do you mean it?” Vinyl whispered, her voice cracking. “Do you promise?”

“Yes,” Octavia tried to stay steady, but she felt on the verge of begging. “Yes, Vinyl, I promise. I swear to you I’m telling you the truth.”

Vinyl’s gaze broke and fell to the floor. She shook her head slowly as she wrestled with her feelings. “I want to believe you,” she mumbled. “I wish I could just trust you. But I… I don’t know…”

“I know, Vinyl. It’s alright.” Octavia drew closer to the unicorn, walking slowly.

“I’ve been through this too many times. I can’t do it again. I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t. It won’t be the same this time.” She finally placed a hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder. The unicorn finally looked up, into her eyes. She could see the desperation in her eyes. It begged her for a reason to believe. “I love you, Vinyl Scratch. All of you.”

At last, something changed in the unicorn’s eyes. They stared deep into her own, and finally seemed to settle as they drifted shut. Vinyl’s head moved towards hers as her own eyes closed, and a moment later their lips met softly. They stayed for several seconds, barely touching, remembering a tenderness that it seemed like they hadn’t shared in an eternity. Then Vinyl’s last restraints broke, and she threw herself around Octavia in a crushing embrace, surrendering her defenses to the earth pony. Octavia responded in kind, wrapping her forelegs around Vinyl’s back and pulling her as close as she could while their lips pressed madly together. Bottles were sent spinning and Octavia’s box tumbled to the floor as they pulled each other back and forth, spinning around the room, their mouths and bodies refusing to reduce contact even the slightest bit.

Octavia managed to pin Vinyl against the wall, using the unyielding surface to press herself against the unicorn with all her might. Hooves ran through manes and over backs and withers as the two devoured each other desperately. Octavia began grinding her whole body against Vinyl’s. The friction only compounded her emotions, and it all focused and culminated in that wonderfully warm, delicious mouth that clamped around hers. Vinyl’s legs began to give out, and she slowly slid to the floor. Octavia followed in time, rolling her away from the wall and onto her back so that she lay on top of the unicorn. Her lungs suddenly burned for air, and she broke the kiss with a giant gasp, which Vinyl echoed. Her body continued to gyrate against Vinyl’s, the heat of the friction filling her and driving her to moan. She looked down at Vinyl. The unicorn’s eyes slowly drifted open, glazed by the same warmth and pleasure that filled her. Traces of the uncertainty that had shrouded those eyes before still lingered now, and exhaustion was heavy on their lids. But the life was seeping back into them none the less, filling them with the sparkle of vivacity that she knew them for. Octavia had almost forgotten how captivating and pure those crimson eyes could be.

“Bedroom?” Octavia suggested as she was still catching her breath.

“Yea,” Vinyl agreed. It wasn’t as immediate or enthusiastic as her normal agreements to sex, but she was resolute as Octavia helped her to her hooves. She turned slowly and led the way to her bedroom.

Octavia’s body was far beyond reluctant to lose contact with Vinyl’s. The earth pony kept as close to her partner as she could and still walk, but with each of the few dozen steps to the bedroom her pent up need grew. By the time they reached the bedroom, she felt like a compressed spring, ready to snap forward. And when Vinyl climbed onto the bed and looked over her shoulder, doing her best to muster the cocky, inviting grin she was always so quick with, that’s just what she did. Octavia pounced onto the bed and tackled Vinyl in a single fluid motion, pinning the unicorn to her back. Her body pressed hard against the warm softness underneath her, and her lips fell to ravishing that beautiful face. She kissed Vinyl’s lips, her snout, her cheeks, anything her mouth came near.

“Oh Vinyl, I love you,” she crooned. She said the words freely, not expecting them in return, only happy to give them. “I love you,” she repeated with each kiss. “I love you. I love you. I love you.” Vinyl’s mouth silently roamed over her face, returning the kisses and licks and nibbles in turn. Finally, Octavia grabbed Vinyl’s head in her hooves and planted her lips firmly on the other mare’s. She moaned loudly into her partner’s mouth, and licked her lower lip. She felt the unicorn’s mouth part, and in an instant her tongue was inside it, seeking out the hers’. She found it, and they quickly intertwined, embracing like long-lost friends.

Octavia’s tongue was like an untamed animal, running circles around Vinyl’s tongue and gums and everywhere else. She held the unicorn’s lips tight against her own as she explored her open mouth like she’d never been. She hadn’t realized how bad her need for Vinyl’s kiss had become. But even greater was her need to show Vinyl her true feelings. She poured every ounce of regret and sympathy and love she’d felt over the last two days into her mouth, desperate to impart even a fraction of her emotion.

Finally, Octavia released Vinyl, and the two broke apart again, their bodies coming to a rest. Octavia looked down into Vinyl’s eyes, and she felt her breath catch when she saw the tears pooling in the unicorn’s eyes. Vinyl offered a faint smile, but it did nothing to keep her voice from breaking when she quietly said, “I like the way you kiss me.”

Octavia smiled gently at her. “Me too,” she said.

“And, I like the way you hold me.” Vinyl took a breath before she continued. “I like the way your voice sounds when you talk to me, and when you say my name. The way you laugh, and moan, and yell at me when you’re not really mad. And the way your hoof feels, when it’s holding mine. I like the way you press against me when we’re walking together, or lying together. And I like…” Vinyl squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “I…love… the way you look at me. Like I’m the only pony in the room.”

Octavia felt her own eyes gently burning as her heart fluttered in her chest. She leaned down and whispered, “When I look at you, you are.” She kissed Vinyl again, more gently, absorbing the unicorn’s emotions as much as she dished out her own. As their mouths pressed together, Octavia’s hooves slid over Vinyl’s cheeks, slowly trailed down her neck, and began to rub in circles against her back. As their kiss began to heat up, Octavia’s body began to grind against Vinyl’s again, and she was pleased that her partner immediately responded in kind. Octavia’s grip around Vinyl tightened, and one of her hooves slipped down to hook around Vinyl’s rump. The unicorn gasped as her leg was lifted up, and her hips were pulled forward.

It felt like ages since Octavia had felt Vinyl’s body like this: the pulsating warmth, the sweat seeping through her coat, the lustful moans reverberating in her mouth and her ears and her whole head. But it was as good as she remembered it. It was even better, somehow. Something had changed, if not in Vinyl’s voice and movements, then in her own mind. The friction between them alone had her feeling as though she was floating. She didn’t know what it was, but she loved it, and she wanted more of it. Octavia fondled her flanks as she used them as leverage to push her pelvis against the other’s. Traces of wetness dampened the fur above her crotch, and she suspected she was doing the same on Vinyl’s coat. Slowly, she moved her hoof from Vinyl’s flanks towards her crotch, causing the unicorn to moan with increasing volume as she went. Finally, she slid her hoof against Vinyl’s entrance, and was surprised by how soaked she was. Vinyl’s lips fell away from hers as she moaned.

“Looks like you missed me in more ways than one,” Octavia said sweetly, smirking down at Vinyl as she held her hoof in place at her entrance.

“Ooooh you have no idea,” Vinyl panted as she regained control of her gaping mouth. “In my defense, it’s really hard to masturbate when you’re heartbroken and blind drunk.”

“Mm, I’m well aware,” Octavia agreed gently. She released Vinyl from foreleg’s embrace and kissed at the base of her neck. She smiled up from Vinyl’s chest and said, “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll take care of you.” She returned her lips to the unicorn’s chest, and began kissing a trail down her body. With their embrace broken, her other foreleg joined its partner near Vinyl’s crotch, and began rubbing her inner thigh. As Octavia worked her way down, her hooves occasionally travelled inward to press firmly against Vinyl’s entrance, never quite entering her. It made Vinyl moan loudly, and Octavia’s ears perked at the sound of her voice every time. She smiled.

“Gods, I love the way you moan,” she said to her unicorn partner. “I love your voice. It’s like…” She pressed against the wet slit again, eliciting another groan. “…music.”

Vinyl tried to grin, still breathing heavily. “As long as you keep doing what you’re doing, I’m happy to keep singing.

Octavia smiled into a mouthful of Vinyl’s flesh. Her trail of kisses reached Vinyl’s teats, and pressed her lips between them. Vinyl’s hips lurched at the contact. Approving of this reaction, she planted a firm kiss on the left nipple, and moaned softly as Vinyl squirmed and groaned under the treatment.

“Hey, go easy!” Vinyl pleaded, though her tone betrayed her pleasure. “Those are -ah- sensitive!” She jerked again as Octavia switched to her other nipple.

“Hmm, really?” Octavia mused teasingly, eyeing the small mounds. “Then I’ve clearly never spent enough time on these.” With that, her mouth descended around Vinyl’s teat, sucking it gently. She worked her tongue over the nipples, sliding around her mounds, and poking and flicking the tips. She moved her mouth from one teat to the other, alternating between sucking and puffing on them. She grazed the nipples lightly with her teeth, smiling as the sensation elicited deep-throated groans from Vinyl. And as she took one of them in her mouth and gave it a good, hard pull, she pushed her hoof firmly against Vinyl’s vagina, just enough to push past her labia and barely into her slick tunnel. Vinyl’s thighs clenched around Octavia’s leg, trying to push her hoof deeper, but Octavia resisted and pulled her hoof away. She wanted to save the deeper exploration for something special.

Satisfied by her treatment of Vinyl’s tits, she planted a kiss below them, just above her vagina. Then her eyes lowered, and she stared at Vinyl’s beautiful slit, dripping with her juices and winking in invitation. She glanced up and caught Vinyl’s eyes, smiling warmly up at her. Then she leaned in and planted a firm, sucking kiss on Vinyl’s nether lips. Her lips pulled against Vinyl’s crotch, and it followed. She broke the kiss only to repeat it a second time, and a third. On the fourth kiss, her lips parted, and her eager tongue licked Vinyl’s slit from bottom to top. She moaned at the tantalizing taste of Vinyl’s sweet juices, but even to her, her moans were lost under Vinyl’s groans as the unicorn’s back arched off of the bed. Octavia released her from her tongue’s control, and Vinyl’s rump fell back to earth. As she watched her white pussy quivering for more, the taste of her juices hot on her tongue, any interest Octavia may have had in restraint was utterly lost.

The earth pony dove into her lover until her snout was buried in the unicorn’s lips, and her tongue probed deep into the moist tunnel in front of her. Her tongue lashed and licked furiously, trying to coax more and more of Vinyl’s fluids out of her. She felt Vinyl’s hooves holding her head, and heard her voice moaning and panting. It fueled Octavia’s passion, pushing her deeper and wilder. Even though Vinyl’s hole was leaking a steady stream, Octavia wanted more. She wanted to give her more pleasure. Even as her tongue eagerly licked at the streams of delicious fluids, her foreleg moved up to Vinyl’s entrance. With a firm and sudden push, she shoved her hoof inside, sliding past her tongue and forcing those slick walls apart. Vinyl’s moaning doubled, and she felt the unicorn’s back arch against the bed as she began thrusting her hoof in and out of Vinyl’s sensitive pussy. As her hoof took over plundering her hole, Octavia’s tongue moved north to Vinyl’s swollen clit, and lavished her oral affections on it. She swirled her tongue around it and cradled it in her lips, kissing and sucking it again and again. Each time she released it, Vinyl’s fevered moans were punctuated by a yelp of pleasure. Those yelps spurred her on more than anything she could remember. She’d never felt so validated by such a simple sound. She had to have more of it.

Octavia’s hoof quickened inside Vinyl, determined to drive her louder. Vinyl’s body responded, twisting in pleasure and bucking against her hoof. But the unicorn’s voice remained frustratingly reserved, restricted to moans and the occasional gasp or yelp. As her hoof fully took over pleasuring Vinyl’s crotch, Octavia’s lips moved upwards, across her teats and stomach and barrel, trying to find something to drive her partner truly wild. She was half way up Vinyl’s chest, angling for her neck, when she looked up, and her eyes widened in inspiration. Without missing a beat on Vinyl’s hole, she shimmied up and kissed Vinyl’s lips briefly, before planting a long kiss on her forehead. Octavia’s hoof came to a stop, still as deep inside Vinyl as she could reach, idly rubbing around. Octavia looked down at Vinyl, waiting until the unicorn looked up at her, confused about why she’d stopped doing those wonderful things. Octavia smiled silently at her, then slowly stuck out her tongue, and licked Vinyl’s horn from base to tip.

The sound of the air catching in Vinyl’s throat was somewhere between shock and disbelief. Octavia imagined that her eyes went wide, but her own eyes were already closed as her mouth clamped down around her horn, and she began bobbing her head up and down along its length. Her tongue swirled around the fluted shaft, tracing the ridge that spiraled along it. She moaned enthusiastically as she sucked on Vinyl’s horn, and almost immediately was rewarded with Vinyl’s moan in response. That was all she was waiting for to kick her hoof back into gear pounding away at Vinyl’s hole. It was difficult to get a good angle with her body so far up Vinyl’s, but Octavia found a rhythm of bobbing and thrusting that let her alternate between probing her hole and rubbing her slit and clitoris.

Vinyl’s body was a writhing mass under her. The unicorn twisted and arched her back under the double dose of pleasure Octavia rained down on her. Octavia redoubled her efforts on Vinyl’s horn, sucking harder and running her lips and tongue along it faster and faster. Her lips parted occasionally, and her drool trickled down the horn onto Vinyl’s head. She could tell that her treatment was having the intended effect on Vinyl. And yet, she still couldn’t make Vinyl’s voice rise. If anything, her partner was quieter than before. She wanted to hear her scream, she could feel it building, waiting, but it seemed to be trapped, like it had caught in her chest with Vinyl’s gasp and couldn’t escape in more than frequent gasps and groans. Enough was enough. Octavia finally released Vinyl’s horn from her mouth and looked down at her partner.

“Sweetie,” she chided her gently, “stop being so quiet.” Without waiting for a response, she clamped down around Vinyl’s horn and resumed her work.

Vinyl must have only been waiting for her permission, because the second her tongue touched her horn, Octavia got her scream. Vinyl’s whole body spasmed and her head fell back as she released it, shattering the relative silence. It rolled on and on, rising with every thrust inside her pussy and lick against her horn, but never falling. Vinyl screamed until Octavia wondered how she was still able to breathe, but she didn’t care. It was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard. It was better than music – a symphony of one instrument. And she played that instrument with the same feeling with which she’d played her cello the first night she’d kissed Vinyl. She knew no time, no exhaustion, no goal. All that remained was passion and beauty, a euphoric sound echoing in her ears, and a wondrous sense of something greater than herself.

On and on she played, bringing Vinyl to a crescendo. And as the unicorn’s back arched against the bed and she cried out her loudest, Octavia returned to reality enough to notice a gentle warmth filling her mouth. It pulsed and hummed, and as Vinyl’s pussy contracted around her hoof, flooding it with mare cum, it grew warmer, and the lights around them dimmed nearly to black with an indignant electric hum. Octavia released Vinyl’s horn from her mouth and watched it glow on climactic impulse.

She waited until Vinyl’s body fell limply back to Earth before removing her hoof from her passage. She brought it to her mouth and licked at the ample coating of fluid, cradling the sweet nectar on her tongue. She turned back to Vinyl and bent over. The unicorn’s eyes didn’t focus on her as she leaned close, but her mouth accepted Octavia’s as the earth pony passionately kissed her. Amidst her still fading orgasm, the soft lips and gentle tongue and the taste of her own flavor was too much for Vinyl, and her eyes drifted closed as she lost herself in the hedonism of it all.

Octavia eventually broke the kiss and sat up, watching Vinyl breathe deeply as her mind worked its way through the euphoric haze. Gradually, the unicorn opened her eyes, looking up at her groggily. Octavia couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Why does it always have to be a light show with you?” she asked, smiling down at her partner. Vinyl closed her eyes as she willed herself enough energy to speak.

“You’re one to talk,” she said slowly, barely more than a whisper. “You’re the one making me see stars.”

“You sure know how to make a mood sappy, don’t you?” Octavia smiled

“Hey, I’m good at what I do.” Vinyl began wiggling a forehoof, which Octavia watched in confusion. “C’mere,” Vinyl slurred tiredly, “I’mma do you now.” Octavia giggled as she leaned down, and rested her hoof on Vinyl’s to still its squirming.

“Sweetie, I think you’re done for the night,” she said, lying on her side next to Vinyl.

“Mm,” Vinyl responded, too tired and comfortable to argue as Octavia snuggled closer. “Fine, next time, then.”

“Hmm, definitely. I plan to give you a lot more chances.” The two lay in silence, and Octavia listened to Vinyl’s breathing until she thought the unicorn had fallen asleep. Her own eyes were drifting closed when Vinyl spoke again.

“I love you,” Vinyl said without moving. It was barely more than a whisper, and afterwards she didn’t even breathe at first. But then Octavia saw her smile faintly, staring up at the ceiling. “Heh, guess it’s not so hard to say after all.”

Octavia was too stunned to respond. She could only watch Vinyl’s eyes drift shut as she lay next to her. But slowly her surprise was replaced by an absolute joy. Warmth spread from her heart through her entire body, until it spilled into a wide, gentle smile. She nuzzled against Vinyl’s cheek and barely whispered back.

“No, it’s not.”