Vinyl snuggled into Octavia's fur, happy but exhausted. Time passed, with the two ponies blissfully enjoying each other's embrace.

"What are you thinking about, Vi?" asked Octavia.

Vinyl sighed. "It was… it was difficult being back here, you know?" Octavia nodded and held Vinyl tighter. "But it's helped, I think. I'm not saying everything's going to be just fine now, but I'm beginning to feel like the old me is coming back."

Octavia kissed Vinyl's forehead and stroked her mane. "She never went away. She's always been there. Maybe you couldn't see her, but I could."

Vinyl smiled.

Octavia gently stroked Vinyl's wings. Through the open balcony doors, they could hear the song of birds. "The sun will be up soon, and the spell will be broken," Octavia said. "What was with the whole alicorn thing anyway?"

Vinyl sat up. "I told you before, I'm not an alicorn — I'm just a unicorn with wings."

Octavia looked at her. "What's the difference?"

Vinyl slumped back in bed beside her. "An alicorn is a blend of all three pony kinds. I have the magic of a unicorn, and the flight of a pegasus, but I don't have the strength of an earth pony."

Octavia leaned over Vinyl and kissed her softly on the lips. "Yes, you do," she whispered. "You have me."

Author's Note

Thanks for reading!

I wrote this story for ScratchnTavi's birthday. Please wish her a happy birthday in the comments below, and/or on her user page! Also, go read her beautiful, beautiful story Tears Of The Past — it's really good, and deserves to have had more readers!

Lastly, if you're interested in the ideas I used in this story, be sure to check out my blog for some more author notes.