I Wub You

Chapters

One - Communication
Two - A Few Firsts
Three - Moving Out, Moving In
Four - Words

One - Communication

I never believed in love at first sight, and before you go thinking that, no. I did not fall in love with Vinyl the first time I saw her. In fact, the first time I saw her, I think I may have hated her. Okay, that’s definitely an overstatement. I didn’t hate her at all, I was just somewhat annoyed by her. I’d like to think I’m a refined sort of mare, and being seen in a club like that, with a pony like that, would be the last thing I would want.

Alas, there I was. The… The Rocking Horse? I think that was what it was called, but it was an absolutely dreadful establishment. Loud, uncouth ponies walked around, carrying large amounts of alcohol to either drink for themselves or to give to their other loud, uncouth friends. Speaking of loud and uncouth friends...

“TAVIA!” I flinched backward as Berry shouted in my ear from next to me as I walked in the doors. “I’m so glad you came!”

“I’m not.” I mumbled to myself, appreciative of the loud music for the first time as it covered up my words.

“What? You gotta speak up, girl! The music in this place is bangin’!”

“I said, I’m glad to be here!” I forced a smile and received a tight hug from my friend. After a second, she released me and turned to another group of ponies.

“Tavia, meet my friends!” She motioned to the group, who swiveled to look at me, skeptical smiles on their faces.

“Hey, girl. Heard you weren’t coming with anyone tonight.” A white stallion with a spiky yellow mane walked up to me from Berry Punch’s group of friends.

“No, not interested.” I said, immediately knowing what this was about.

“Wh-what? I just wanted to chat you up- uh… I mean, have a chat with you.”

“Swift, she’s gay.” Berry said, laughing loudly at the stallion’s blush and immediate switch from confident to shy and nervous.

“Oh, uh… Sorry, miss.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s quite alright.” I smiled back at him. How surprising. A stallion with manners.

“Hey, you want a drink?” Berry said, sidling up to the only pony I did recognize, Bold Line, her coltfriend.

“A martini, if that’s alright. How much is it?” I reached for my purse only for a hoof to stop me.

“Girl, I know for a fact you didn’t want to come tonight.” Berry said, an almost apologetic look on her face. “This place is like, the opposite of what you like, and I wanted to thank you for showing up. Just let me buy your drinks tonight, okay? Please?”

I sighed and smiled at my friend. As much as I didn’t want to associate with her kind of lifestyle, she was a true friend, one that had stuck with me ever since I came to this usually quiet little town.

“Fine. I’m not going to be drinking much tonight, but I appreciate your offer.” I smiled at her and she grinned back widely, leaving her coltfriend’s side to go order our drinks. As she left, Bold Line walked up to me and sat down.

“Hey, Octavia. I hope you can have some fun tonight. Berry really wanted you to come.”

I sighed and smiled at him.

“Yes, I will try. I know Berry just wants me to be included, and she’s compromised for me before. I know that she didn’t like the soiree that we attended together after my solo concert last week, so it’s the least I can do to make it up to her.”

“She’s lucky to have a friend like you.” The blue stallion smiled widely and surprised me with a tight hug. I returned the hug to the affectionate stallion and sat down next to him afterward. I fiddled with my hooves as I looked around the room, glancing over to Berry’s group of friends, who had now begun to approach us.

“Hey hey, Octave, right?” A deep red mare slurred, clearly already having drunk a few rounds already.

“Octavia, actually. Charmed to meet you.”

“Ooh, fancy speak! Niiiiice…” She said, leaning up against another mare, this one with a lime yellow coat and pale green hair. “I’m Pepper, and this is my girl, Sour Twist.” She said, as the quite nervous looking, skinny mare waved to me. I forced another smile and waved back. As we were talking, the last member of Berry’s group approached us, the stallion named Swift who had come onto me before.

“Hey, Octavia. Sorry for trying to… You know.”

“Really, Swifty, I’m sure she doesn’t mind.” Bold said.

“I don’t.” I nodded. “I know I don’t exactly come across as homosexual, but I am, and I am not ashamed of it.”

“Hey!” Pepper leant toward me and whispered in my ear. “Me neither!” She jolted back and mashed her lips against her partners, eliciting a muffled complaint from Sour Twist, who eventually conceded and kissed her back. I was a little shocked by this sudden display of affection, but Berry had told me about this kind of place before. I had tried to steel myself for what it would be like, but I had not expected to experience nearly every one of her warnings in the first ten minutes of arriving here.

“Loud music, over-confident stallions, public displays of…” I glanced over to Pepper, still kissing her partner who had seemingly lost all sense of nervousness. “I guess that’s ‘Affection’.”

“What was that?” Bold asked and I shot up, surprised anyone could hear me over the loud music.

“N-Nothing! Just… rambling to myself.” I said, attempting to excuse my mumbling.

“Okay. Ooh! Berry’s back!” I followed his line of sight to see Berry, precariously balancing six drinks in her hooves. She began distributing the drinks out between her friends, all of them seemingly having ordered various types of ales or ciders, except for me. I felt a little out of place, sipping my martini while the rest of the group drank their beverages with great fervor, but I tried to smile anyway. Berry’s friends were still loud, and definitely not who I would usually hang out with, besides Berry, but they were no-where near as bad as I had anticipated. The smile on my face almost became genuine, but all of a sudden, a loud boom came from behind me. I yelped and flinched, accidentally knocking the rest of my martini over in the process.

“Wooooo!” Berry jumped up from her seat and spun around, her eyes wide with excitement. What in tartarus could be causing such… Oh. I turned around and looked across the club, seeing nothing but flashing lights and shadows of ponies until I saw, dancing on the stage with her hooves planted on the turntables, a pure white mare with an electric blue mane. The loud booming music that came from the speakers next to her shook the whole room, even leaving ripples in the puddle that my spilled martini had left.

“Who in the world is that!” I shouted, holding my hooves to my ears in an attempt to stop them from exploding.

“Who is that? Who is that!?” Pepper said, seemingly having finally broken away from her kiss with Sour Twist. “That, my dear friend, is DJ Pon3! Only the raddest, most awesome, and downright hottest mare in the world! Uh, that is, besides Sour Twist.” She said, looking back to her blushing partner.

“Hot?” I looked back to the stage and squinted my eyes to get proper look at her. Despite the distance between the stage and I, I could tell that the mare behind the turntables was quite pretty. If it weren’t for her garish hairstyle, and now that I was looking closer, her awful purple shades, she might make for a respectable mare.

“C’mon, Swift! Let’s go dance! Maybe there’ll be another hot, not gay mare out there for you!” Bold shouted, grabbing the now confident looking stallion by the hoof and leading him toward the dance floor. Pepper skulled the rest of her beer and lead Sour out to join them, leaving me and Berry alone. I sat back in my chair, hooves dropping from my ears. The music was still incredibly loud, but I had gotten somewhat used to the volume by now.

“Hey, Tavia! You spilled your drink!” Berry said, sitting down next to me.

“Oh, uh… Yes. Sorry, Berry Punch. You don’t have to get me a new one.”

“Are you kidding me? I never leave a friend with an empty glass!”

“Berry, I don’t plan on drinking very much tonight. I’d rather not wake up tomorrow with a pounding headache.”

“But Taviaaaaaa…” She whined, placing her hooves on my shoulders. “You promiiiiiised…”

I rolled my eyes and groaned.

“Fine. I’ll have another drink. One more drink.”

Five. Five drinks. I smiled, my eyes drooping as the effects of the alcohol took a hold of my body.

“Woah, Tavia, you’re smashed!” Berry said, wrapping a hoof around my withers. “I knew you were a lightweight, but damn.”

“I am not… Smashed. I am… Happy.”

“Hey! I knew you’d be having a good time tonight!”

“I didn’t mean happy like that, but I guess I am happy. I’m havin’ a good time here and stuff.” I slurred leaning against my also quite drunk friend. The club’s music had quietened down after that horrible mare had stopped playing her loud music, but it was still louder than I usually would have liked. Drunk me, however, didn’t care. She bobbed her head to the music, sipping from her sixth drink that night.

The rest of our group was done dancing and we all sat around the table, only missing Pepper, her marefriend sitting patiently as she waited for her to return. Bold was arguing loudly with Swift about this mare Swift had met that he was sure he had “Fallen in love with” the moment he met her. Bold was, of course, trying to convince the tipsy stallion that it wasn’t love, but he just liked her flanks. I giggled at the thought of a wide eyed Swift giving googly eyes to a mare’s rump that had literal googly eyes stuck to it. That would be weird.

“Hey guys, look who I found wandering around at the bar!” Pepper shouted, all of us turning around to see her approaching us, a familiar white unicorn mare at her side. “It’s DJ Pon3! And she wants to drink with us!”

The cocky looking mare, now sans her ridiculous glasses, nodded at us and offered a wide grin. Now that those glasses were off, I noticed that her eyes were a bright magenta, not that far off from the colour her glasses were. It was still quite striking, but I definitely could say I prefered her without the shades.

“C’mon, sit down with us!” Berry called her over and the DJ walked over, sitting uncomfortably close to me. She glanced over at me and waved. I offered an apprehensive smile back before turning to the rest of our group as Pepper began to talk again.

“So, whadya want to drink, DJ Pon3.”

The DJ showed a slight frown before reaching into her saddlebag, pulling out a pen and paper. Confused, I watched as she levitated a pen out and began writing down something, probably her drink order.

“Why don’t you just tell her? I’m sure she can remember!” I called out, my mouth speaking before my mind even had time to catch up. She frowned at me before writing on the piece of paper again. Underneath the words “Shot of Absinthe and a Rum and Cola”, in particularly nice hoofwriting, were the words “I can’t talk”.

“Ohhh, sorry!” I apologized. She must have a sore throat after shouting out at the crowd of ponies all night. Fair enough, I’d be in even worse a condition if I was her. Pepper collected the rest of our orders, me included, and hurried off excitedly, eager to get our drinks and talk with DJ Pon3 again.

“So, Miss DJ Pon3. What’s your real name?” I asked, my drunken self forgetting the formal way I would usually word my sentences. She smiled, reaching for her pad again.

My name is Vinyl Scratch. Nice to meet you. What’s your name?

The wording that she used was very surprising. I expected a mare such as herself to use short sentences, impolite and straight to the point.

“My name is Octavia, and it’s nice to meet you too.” I tried my hardest to sound like I did when sober, now worried at being judged by this pony for some reason. Maybe she was actually one of the Canterlot high elite and just dressed like this for the stage? “I must say, while I thought it was a little bit too loud, I did quite enjoy your music. I usually play and listen to classical music, usually string quartets and the like.”

Vinyl lifted her pen again.

You’re a musician too? What do you play?

“I play Cello mainly, though I have learnt quite a lot of violin and piano from my sisters. They are also talented musicians, though only one has pursued it.”

I really like the Cello. I used a few Cello samples in one of the songs I played tonight, did you notice?

She did? I really hadn’t been paying enough attention to her music, I was spending most of it drinking and talking with Berry.

“I-I didn’t, sorry. It took a little while to me to get used to your music.” I said apologetically, and Vinyl waved a hoof dismissively, a smile on her face. This was strangely enjoyable, interacting with this mare. I had expected this entire night to be a disappointment, leaving me with nothing but aching muscles and a throbbing headache, but it was turning out to be quite the opposite. I was snapped out of my thoughts as Vinyl began to write again.

Maybe we should get together some time and play together? I’ve always wanted to play with a real musician instead of synthesized instruments, but I’ve never met a musician like you that didn’t immediately ignore me. Classical musicians don’t exactly respect electronic music.

Play with her?

“P-Play with you?” I voiced my thoughts aloud. Would that… Would that be nice? My drunken mind was trying to make heads or tails of the situation, but I found myself nodding at the now wide smiled unicorn.

Awesome! Do you have any shows coming up? I’d really like to go to one.

“You? You’d like to come to one of… My shows?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

“Well, y-yes! I would like that too! I’m really glad to have met you, Miss Scratch.”

Please, just call me Vinyl.

“O-okay then, Vinyl!”

“Ooooh, look who’s chatting up the rockstar, Berry!” Pepper said, arriving with our drinks and hoofing them out to us.

“I am not chatting her up. We are having a civil conversation.” My words must have come out a lot less proper than I thought I had said them, as the entire group erupted into laughter. “I-I’m not!”

“You are sooooo wasted, girl!” Berry said, giggling uncontrollably. “Get that drink in you! We’re getting completely wrecked tonight!”

“Soo… Then I said, hey mum! Fuck you!” I stumbled with my words, a now very drunk, white coated unicorn next to me. “Then I left. I wasn’t gon’ take none of that bitch’s shit an’more.”

Vinyl levitated her pad and wrote down another message.

That’s very brave of you. I could never come out to my mum. She’d kill me.

“Yeah, well I had to do it. I had m’ first marefriend, and I reaaaally wanted ta kiss ‘er.”

I haven’t had a marefriend yet. I’d really like to have one eventually, but I’m focusing on my music right now.

“Jus’ give it time, Vinny. No point in rushin’. Wait, you’re gay too?”

She nodded, her face red with an alcohol fueled blush.

“Sweet. I mean, uh, that’s… cool.” I quickly looked away from her, taking another sip from my drink. After a few more drinks, I felt the effects of the alcohol begin to fatigue me. I stumbled with my words, and it was pretty much impossible to carry a conversation with Vinyl anymore.

“Hey, Vinyl, do you mind taking Tavia home? She looks pretty drunk, and I don’t want her to regret tonight anymore than she will tomorrow morning. I’d take her home, buuuut...” Berry glanced over to the seat next to her where Bold Line was collapsed, snoring loud enough to be heard over the music. Vinyl nodded and lifted me up, wrapping one of my hooves around her. She quickly got my address off of Berry and before I knew it we were walking together through the town. Well, it was mostly her walking, me stumbling around with my hoof around her.

“You really don’ have ta take me home, Vin’... I'm *hic* fine.” I slurred, earning me nothing but a roll of the eyes and and a shake of the head.

I didn't have it in me to argue so I conceded to let her drag me home. Eventually, we reached my apartment and I drunkenly pulled out my keys. After a minute or so of fumbling at the lock, she took it from me in her magic and unlocked the door. I mumbled a thank you before making my way in and over to the couch and collapsing. Vinyl came in behind me and stared around the room, eyes wide.

“Like it? I earn enough from the shows I do to ‘fford some… fancy shit.” Vinyl just nodded and continued to look at her surroundings. My walls were adorned with quite a few paintings and there was a fresh vase of flowers that I had purchased that morning from Rose and Lily. Vinyl smiled at me and waved, turning to make her way out the door.

“No, stay!” I shouted to her before I could even think. She froze in her tracks and turned around, one eyebrow raised on her pretty face.

Pretty face?

“Jus’... stay, please?” I pleaded as she stood there, a frown now adorning her eyebrows. After a while, she rolled her eyes and nodded nervously.

“Wooooo!” I called out, stretching my hooves out and rolling around on the couch. Vinyl slowly walked toward me before sitting down. I leapt forward, wrapping my hooves around the shocked mare.

“Yaaaaay, Vinyl!” I smiled up at her, my cheeks more than just rosy from my drinking. “I think… I might be a little drunk.”

She grinned and raised an eyebrow.

“Fiiine, more than a little. Hey, I had fun tonight.” I said and Vinyl nodded in agreeance. “Maybe I'll come to another one of your shows and properly listen to the music this time.”

Vinyl nodded softly and and we sat in silence. I rested my head against the mare’s belly and hummed a satisfied ditty. I looked up at her and found myself oddly entranced by her. There was something odd about the mare's wild appearance, yet polite way of wording her messages to me that left me wanting something. I wanted to be friends with this mare.

“So, is your throat still sore?” I asked. She raised an eyebrow questioningly. “You know, your throat was sore? You couldn't talk tonight?”

A look of realization swept her face, coupled with one of sorrow. She levitated her writing pad out and hoofed it over to me. It took a few seconds to focus on the letter and a few more to understand exactly what she had written.

I'm a mute. I've never been able to talk.

“Oh my gosh, Vinyl.” I looked up at her, tears suddenly brimming my eyes. “I'm sorry.” She waved a hoof dismissively again and flashed her signature grin at me again.

“I really wanted to hear the pretty voice that went along with that pretty smile.” I thought, earning me a shocked expression and a blush from Vinyl. Wait. Did I actually say that?

“Oh, uh… I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to-” She cut me off with a hoof, covering my lips gently. She pulled up her pad and began to write.

Nopony’s ever called me pretty before. Thank you.

“Now that I find hard to believe. You're like, one of the prettiest mares I know.” I stated, earning me another shy look and a blush. “You… You really haven't been called that before?”

She shook her head and looked down at her hooves.

“Well, thas’ gon’ change, m’kay? Cos’ you’re like, super pretty and stuff I’ll call you pretty err’y day.” I smiled at her dumbly, her blush only intensifying. I moved closer to her and wrapped my hooves around her neck. We sat in silence, no sound coming from either of us besides her hot breath against my face. Suddenly, the heat of her breath was replaced with a different warmth. The warmth of her lips against mine.

“Uuuuugh, my head is killing me…” I whined out loud, the throbbing of my headache encompassing my entire existence. I turned around and pressed my face into one of the pillows on the couch. I must have slept there last night, probably too drunk to even get up and go to bed. My messy mind tried it’s hardest to recall the events of last night in order, but they were nothing but a blur. I heard the hooves of another pony approach me and I opened my eyes. “V-VINYL!?”

She stepped back, shocked at how loudly I had shouted her name.

“Wh-what are you still doing here? I didn’t make you take care of me, did I?”

She levitated her writing pad off of the coffee table and scribbled down something fast.

You did ask me to stay, but you were just very t̶o̶u̶c̶h̶y̶ ̶f̶e̶e̶l̶y̶ friendly after that.

“Friendly? Friendly how?”

Vinyl shook her head in dismissal and held out her hoof to me. I looked at it to see that she was offering me a few small white tablets in her hoof. Headache tablets, thank Celestia! After I took them from her, she levitated over a glass of cold water to me.

“Oh, Vinyl, thank you so much.” I downed the tablets quickly, eager for them to start their effect some time soon. Vinyl sat down next to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder while lifting her pad up again.

Octavia, I have a feeling that last night's events are a little blurry at best for you, so I will recount them. After I took you home, you begged me to stay and we talked for a while. Afterward, you were quite affectionate and you kissed me before you passed out.

“I did WHAT!?” I stared down at the page, my eyes flicking between Vinyl and the message. “Miss Vinyl, I am so sorry. I did not mean to impose on you in any way, and I will fully understand if you would avoid interaction with me from this day forward. I sincerely apologize.”

Vinyl’s face lit up with a look of worry and a bright blush as she shook her head, writing something on her pad again.

No, I do not want to cut contact with you at all! You are the first pony I have met that either didn’t want to interact with me any more or was too star-struck to form a normal conversation. That and… I find you quite pretty. I don’t expect you to still want to talk with me, but I enjoyed talking with you greatly. You are kind, considerate, and even though I haven’t heard your music yet, I know that you are very talented. I also k̶̷i̶̷n̶̷d̶̷ ̶̷o̶̷f̶̷ ̶̷r̶̷e̶̷a̶̷l̶̷l̶̷y̶̷ ̶̷l̶̷i̶̷k̶̷e̶̷d̶̷ ̶̷t̶̷h̶̷a̶̷t̶̷ ̶̷k̶̷i̶̷s̶̷s̶̷ ̶̷ would like to see where this goes. That is, if you would like to as well.

“See where this goes…? Vinyl, are you asking me…?” I stared at the very shy looking mare, who nodded shakily, glancing between me and her hooves. I composed myself despite my aching head and my racing heart. I placed a hoof on Vinyl’s and looked up at her with a nervous smile on my face.

“Vinyl Scratch, I accept your offer.” She looked up at me and smiled, her beaming expression threatening to split her muzzle. “It is the least I can do after forcing myself on you in such an uncouth manner last night. It is most unbecoming of me to have done that. I still apologize greatly for my transgressions and hope that I can make it up to you.”

Vinyl’s eyes lit up and she reached for her pad.

How about you play a song for me? I’d still love to hear you play.

“I think I might have to give those headache pills a chance to kick in first.” I smiled at her nervously. “That and… would it be alright if I asked you for a small favor?”

Vinyl nodded expectantly and waited for my request.

“Might I bother you to make me a coffee?”

She giggled and smiled softly at me, nodding before making her way into my kitchen. My head was still throbbing and my mind was fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure I just agreed to go on a date with Vinyl Scratch. That did actually happen, right?

Two - A Few Firsts

“Vinyl, that's very inappropriate of you. Just because others can't see what you wrote doesn't mean you should do it in public.” I glanced at my date sideways, a small smirk on my face as she grinned cheekily. So cute… “But hilarious none the less. So, Miss Vinyl Scratch, what do you do for fun? Besides telling rude jokes and playing your music, that is.”

Vinyl levitated her pen and pad up in her magic and speedily wrote something down.

Not much else besides that, honestly. My free time is spent either composing, practicing, or listening to other artists music for inspiration or recreation.

“Ah, yes, I find myself prone to that as well. Sometimes my inspiration runs dry and I need to listen to another artist to refresh, so to speak.” I smiled, sipping from my glass as we waited for our order to come.

Vinyl had taken me to a lovely restaurant, not one that I would expect her to have any connection to, but alas, she knew the owner and was able to get us a late notice reservation. The place was almost homely, lit with warm lights and candles, the enticing smell of freshly cooked meals wafting through the air. There was another scent in the air tonight, and I would bet all my bits that Vinyl was wearing a sweetly scented perfume. Just for me.

I sighed and smiled, staring at the lovely unicorn that I had only recently met. Something about her was so… entrancing. Her mane was still quite wild now, but compared to how it was when we first met, it was almost like controlled chaos. Every strand knew where it wanted to be, it just happened that it wanted to be crazy. Much to my delight, Vinyl had explained that her glasses were performance only apparel. I was sure that I would get used to seeing her in them, but Vinyl’s eyes were so strange yet wonderful that I found myself almost being pulled into them. I won't lie, I could probably do nothing but stare into them the whole night and be completely happy.

“Madames, your meals are ready.” I jumped slightly as I was broken from my reverie by the waiter. I smiled nervously at him and thanked him, embarrassed that I had been caught staring at Vinyl. As the waiter left, Vinyl slid a page over to me that she had written on.

Your eyes are very beautiful too, you know. Makes it that much easier to admire when you're staring into mine as well.

I blushed brightly and shoved the note under the table.

“I-I'm sorry, Vinyl, I did not mean to-” I was silenced with an alabaster hoof and a wide smile as Vinyl wrote another message.

Hey, stop apologizing. I liked it, your eyes are really pretty.

“Th-thanks.” I blushed again and futilely tried to hide it with my hooves. “Anyway,” I cleared my throat, eager to change subject. “I'm very glad that you asked me to dinner tonight. While it was still wrong of me to do, there is some upside to that kiss I forced on you. My meal also smells divine, so I suggest we pause our conversation and dine on our exquisite dinner.” I stated, smiling softly as I took a bite of my Ratatouille. Vinyl smiled and rolled her eyes, taking a bite of her own meal as she wrote a note.

Relax, Tavi. You don't need to think too hard tonight, just relax and enjoy yourself.

‘Tavi’?

“W-well, I just thought that I would make the b-best impression if I…” I trailed of as Vinyl gave me a smirk and a raised eyebrow. “F-Fine. I will relax a little.”

Good! You look a lot happier when you're not thinking so hard about what to say. I want to hear about you tonight, not a carefully tailored version of you. Flaws are one of the most important parts of being who you are. For example, I play my music too loud. I have problems letting ponies get to know me. I am messy and will leave my apartment a little bit too long before cleaning.

“Oh my, you're also quite honest about yourself, but I would hardly consider honesty a bad thing.” Vinyl shrugged and motioned toward me with a hoof, clearly insisting that I do the same thing she had done.

“I-I think one of my flaws would be admitting I have flaws to begin with.”

That's a start! Come on, I want to know the real Octavia.

“O-Okay, uh… I can be quite… neurotic, I guess. I don't like it when things don't go to plan and I tend to plan things quite meticulously. Tonight, this date, is really the first time I have done something without much planning beforehoof in quite some time. N-Not that I'm not enjoying myself, tonight is actually the most I've enjoyed myself in quite some time as well.” Vinyl smiled and nodded, engrossed in what I was saying. “I guess the other thing you mentioned is true too. I have a hard time relaxing, especially around those I am… Ahem, r-romantically interested in.” I whispered, my blush almost mirroring Vinyl’s in intensity.

“I-I think that's enough of how uptight a pony I am. I can see that while our faults are a part of who we are, the willpower we have to be good ponies despite our faults is what makes us strong.” I stated, eliciting a giggle from Vinyl and another note.

That sounded like a quote right out of an inspirational speech.

“A-actually, it sort of is. My father told me that before he passed away. I've tried my hardest to live by his words, but nopony’s perfect.” Vinyl nodded in agreement, taking another bite of our meal. We chatted idly as we ate, taking a few breaks to eat our food before it got cold in between subjects. Vinyl definitely seemed to live a very busy life, one that I would never be able to keep up with. Every night, she would DJ at the Rocking Horse, the club we had met at, and would go to sleep at two in the morning, only to wake up early the next day, do her daily errands, prepare for the night's work and still have enough time to fit in composition work and leisure in between. Her active lifestyle was hectic to say the least, but hearing about it made me begin to fantasize.

After a long night, Vinyl would come home, exhausted, and snuggle up next to me in bed. We would wake up early the next day together and we would spend the day talking and helping each other with our respective arts. I would stay at home and write, or go off to do my own performances, as Vinyl went to play her regular set at the Rocking Horse. I shook my head, realizing that I was daydreaming again and brought myself back to reality.

Yo Tavi, you in there? A note had been placed in front of me as I daydreamed. You look like you're off with the fairies again.

“Oh, um, sorry.” I giggled guiltily. “I don't know what's with me tonight. I'm not usually so… easily distracted.”

Were you thinking of me?

“No! I mean, yes, but… What I mean is-” I was interrupted again by Vinyls hoof but this time her smile was paired with a sheepish blush.

Please, don't stop.

I paused my reading and looked up at Vinyl who had gone back to her meal.

I've never felt this admired by somepony before, and seeing you clearly thinking of me, or even of us is amazing. It makes me feel all warm inside.

“Vinyl, you make me feel all warm inside. That's why I can't stop thinking about you.”

I probably would have said, and not just thought that, if I was as drunk as I was last night, but my nerves were holding me back. I looked between Vinyl and her note, trying to hide my smile, spurred on by my melting heart. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

“Vinyl, I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't stop… thinking about you. About us. I feel so warm, I could melt. I want to take you in my hooves and hold you, I want to tell you that everything will be alright and that I lo-” I stopped myself. Was this actually love…? Already? No, i-it can’t be, it was just an immense desire to be with her. “To tell you that I care about you.”

As I looked up to Vinyl, tears were suddenly dripping from her cheeks and a shocked expression covered her face.

“Hey, what's wrong?” I picked up a napkin and leant over to her, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I-I'm sorry if I upset you, I just…” Vinyl shook her head, a soft smile now hinting on her lips.

Octavia, I have never felt more wanted in my entire life. I have never felt this happy, and you're the pony to make me like this. Thank you, with all the strength in my heart, thank you.

It was my turn to cry now and I wiped the tears away before they could form too visibly.

“Thank you, V-Vinyl.” I placed a hoof on hers and stared into her eyes again. Those bright, wonderful magenta orbs took ahold of me and didn't let go, and if I was being honest with myself, I didn't want it to let go. Ever.

“Madames, may I take your dishes away?” The waiter again stunned me with his appearance, shocking me out of my train of thought. I looked back at Vinyl and smiled as I reluctantly released her hoof to let the waiter do his job, but my eyes didn’t leave hers for a second.

With the rest of our meal finished, Vinyl offered to walk me home and I eagerly accepted. The start of our walk was mostly silent, the noises of the night being the only noises heard. We looked out into the night sky together as we walked and I let out a satisfied sigh.

Suddenly, Vinyl began to hum. It started off low and quiet, somewhat somber, yet I was immediately taken aback. It was beautiful. Every note was rich and precise, yet it flowed from her throat like warm honey, so sweet in my ears. My hooves no longer felt like they were walking on the gravel Ponyville road, but instead were walking on air. I gawked, my mouth almost reached the floor as I looked at Vinyl.

The moonlight was sifting through her mane, creating a beautiful effect that was hard to take my eyes from. There was a soft, subtle smile that graced her face and her eyes bounced the light of the full moon off of them. It was almost indescribable, the vision, no, the experience before me. As we reached the door to my home, her song ended, leaving my heart aflutter and my belly warm with adoration.

“Vinyl, that…” I said, stepping toward her. “That was incredible. Beautiful. I-I just assumed that because you were mute I wouldn't ever hear you, but that… that was the most enchanting thing I've ever heard. More than Beethooven, more than Bach. More than… anything” I took one more step, closing the distance between us almost completely. I placed an apprehensive hoof around her withers, my face as red as it had ever been as I looked into her eyes.

“That kiss I stole from you… had you ever been kissed before?” She slowly shook her head, glancing away from me for a second. “I know you said not to apologize to you, so I won't. Instead, I think I'll give you something. Something I should have never taken from you to begin with.” I brought my muzzle close to hers and whispered. “A real first kiss.” I closed the distance and pressed my lips against hers.

Immediately she let out a moan, not unlike her hum before in how beautiful and melodic it was. Her lips felt like a quiet symphony, so beautiful and yet so full of emotion. They were as soft as clouds and as sweet as honey, but somehow so subtle in their sensations. I prodded her lips with my tongue and they quickly parted, allowing me access to explore her fully. Our kiss intensified and Vinyl let out another moan, this one higher pitched than the other, yet equally beautiful. I never wanted to part with her, but I knew I must and I separated our lips, staring into her shocked, yet eager eyes.

“Move in with me.”

Her eyes opened even wider, shock and confusion crossing her expression.

“Tonight, when you had me list my flaws, it made me realize something. I plan everything, every second, every moment, almost every breath of my life is planned out, but tonight, the first night I did something unplanned, turned out to be the most amazing experience of my life. I want that again. I want to be reckless, to do something unplanned for once. I want… I want to be with you, Vinyl. I want to experience you every day. So… What do you say? Do you want to experience me too…?”

My answer was given with a kiss, deeper than any kiss I had ever experienced before. I only forced myself to separate us when I felt something drip onto my face. I opened my eyes, almost expecting to see rain dripping from above, but the night sky was clear. I glanced down to Vinyl and gasped when I saw her face, eyes red with tears and a shaky smile on her lips.

“Oh, Vinyl.” I giggled and smiled warmly at her. “Come on, let’s get inside.” I took her by the hoof and unlocked my door before leading her inside. I walked her over to the couch and sat her down before moving toward the kitchen.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” I asked her and she nodded, reaching for her pad.

White, one sugar please.

I nodded and trotted happily into the kitchen, putting the kettle on the stove to boil. I smiled to myself as I waited in the kitchen, reflecting on the past few minutes. Vinyl had kissed me. Vinyl had kissed me! It wasn’t my drunk self forcing it on her, nor my love drunk self, but she had kissed me back. It was… wonderful.

I was broken from my thoughts as I heard something coming from the living room. I walked over and peeked around the corner only to gasp as I saw Vinyl crying, her eyes red from tears.

“Vinyl, dear!” I trotted over to her and sat down. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

She looked at me and nodded slowly before pausing and shaking her head in defeat. I wrapped my hooves around her and pulled her close, lifting a hoof and brushing back her mane as she let her tears out into my coat. She eventually looked back toward me, the small amount of makeup that she did have on now smeared and dirty.

“Please, tell me what’s on your mind.”

She nervously lifted her writing pad and scratchily wrote her message to me, this one I read as she wrote it.

I’ve never felt so wanted, Octavia. I always focused so hard on my music that having a marefriend didn’t even cross my mind, and I didn’t even know what I was missing until I met you.

“Vinyl, if I have my way, and I know I will, I’ll never let you feel lonely again.” I smiled and held her tight. I reluctantly released myself from her hug as the kettle began to whistle from the kitchen. I quickly brewed our cups of tea and joined her on the couch once more. She hummed in satisfaction, which left a request teetering on the edge of my lips.

“V-Vinyl?” She looked up at me, now mostly free of her sorrowful look. “Could you… Hum for me again?”

A shy smile crossed her face and she nodded slowly before leaning her head on my shoulder. The haunting tones of her hum rung out through my quiet living room as we sat. I sipped my tea, letting my eyes droop as I slowly let myself completely relax in her hooves. I placed my tea on the coffee table and wrapped my hooves around Vinyl, letting her dulcet hum reverberate through my body. My eyes began to flutter and I felt sleep take a hold of me.

Three - Moving Out, Moving In

“Are you sure that's the last of it?” I asked as the moving pony placed Vinyl’s bedside table on the floor. He grunted in frustration and rolled his eyes at me.

“Yes, lady, I told you. That’s all there was.There wasn't a whole lotta furniture beneath all that trash.” He answered. I thanked him, paid him and watched as he left.

Was Vinyl really living in such bare bones conditions? When we organized for the moving ponies to come pick up her furniture, I expected at least a fridge, but Vinyl had seemingly been living completely off non refrigerated food. No wonder she always so strongly insisted that we be at my house when we were together, or that we either eat out or eat at mine. We were definitely going to have a talk when she got home.

Gosh, the last month had passed so quickly. Yes, my decision to ask Vinyl to live with me was sudden and brash, but turns out moving house is anything but sudden. While we organized paperwork, change of address details, so on so forth, Vinyl and I had been able to spend plenty of time together properly getting to know each other. I learned her interests, and I shared mine with her. Sometimes, I found what she did boring to me, but other things were very similar to my own interests, particularly those relating to music.

Vinyl’s taste in music was… weird. Not bad weird, just very much not what I usually listen to. I guess that's the best way to explain it. Her tastes were, as I expected, mostly in electronic music, but the array of genres she listened to was much wider. She listened to everything from deep house to ambient electro. I quite enjoyed the ambient style music, but dance music I found hard to get into now that I wasn't drunk at the bar.

As I was lost in my work, moving things around the house and figuring out where Vinyl’s paltry share of the furniture should go, I heard a quiet click as the door shut behind me. I turned around and smiled, quickly switching to a frown. I had expected Vinyl by now, but instead, a mare with a fiery orange mane and a pale blue coat stood before me.

“M-may I help you, miss?” I asked the mare.

“Oh, hey! Sorry, Vinyl told me to just come in, said she'd be here when I arrived.”

“No, she's not back yet. Sorry, you know Vinyl?”

“Yep! I'm her sister, Spin Top.”

I froze, memories of my many conversations with Vinyl about her family coming to mind. Was her sister as close minded as her parents were? I offered my most friendly smile and extended a hoof.

“Charmed to meet you. I am Octavia, a… friend of Vinyl’s.”

“Ah, so you're this marefriend I've heard so much about. She wasn't kidding, you really do look fancy.”

I was taken aback a little.

“Y-you know about us?”

“Yep! She talks so much about you that you might as well be married already.” Spin Top said with a laugh to her voice. Well, she's not screaming at me, and Vinyl was the one to tell her, so she must be cool with it.

“Well, I'm glad to meet you too. I'm surprised that Vinyl hadn't mentioned you yet.”

“Hard to get a word in with a tongue down your throat, huh?”

“Wh-what!?”

“Hey, hey, relax, Octavia. Just messin’ with ya.”

“Y-yes, um… w-would you like something to drink? Tea perhaps?”

“Coffee would be great, thanks a bunch.”

After I had finished brewing Spin Top’s drink, I brought it out to her and we sat down on the couch together. She glanced around the room a bit, sipping her coffee as she took in her surroundings.

“Damn, girl. You got a nice pad.”

“Pad?”

“Home. Your home is sweet.”

“Oh, thank you. It's quaint enough to suit my purposes, and hopefully, Vinyl’s too.”

“If she's still living above The Rocking Horse, you bet it will be.”

“Excuse me?”

“That's where she lives. Or, I guess, used to live, now that she's moving in with a cute mare.”

I blushed slightly but still pressed the matter.

“You mean to say that she was living in an apartment above that night club?”

“Uh, yes...? Did Vinyl not tell you?”

“No, never! If I knew, I would have…”

“Done what?” Spin Top said, leaning back in her seat. “If she told me right, you two started planning to move in literally the night of your first date. There wasn't anything more you could have done, and you're already making Vinyl happier than I've ever seen her, so don't stress about it. I offered her a place to stay, but she said that she liked it. I guess she found something better.”

“Well, I guess you're right about that. Th-the not being able to help more thing. I really… make her that happy?”

“You kidding me, girl? She meets with me twice a week for lunch and hadn't talked about anything but you. Her face lights up when she talks about you, heck, all those times I had to snap her out of daydreams, she was probably thinking of you too.”

I flinched as a panicked grunt came from across the room. Vinyl had walked in while we were talking and had caught the end of our conversation, her eyes now angrily focused on her sister.

“Hey, don't blame me that you're so infatuated with her that you can hardly think of anything different.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes in defeat and walked over to us. She took a seat next to me and pulled out her notepad, eyes focusing on the page as she wrote a message for us.

I see you two have met? Hopefully she hasn't told too many embarrassing things about me or I'll have to mention what happened at our family vacation last year.

I could almost hear a gulp as Spin Top’s eyes glanced over that.

Regardless, thanks for dealing with the moving ponies while I was out. Had to talk to my old landlord.

“Your old landlord, huh? You mean the owner of The Rocking Horse?”

Vinyl blinked and stared at me. She shot an angry glance at a very guilty looking Spin Top before reaching for her pad again.

I… I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I've just been tight on money recently. Lost a bunch of my DJ gear a year back and had to move to somewhere… cheaper while I paid off my new stuff.

“It's quite alright, Vinyl.” I smiled warmly and placed a hoof on hers. “I don't care why, I'm just glad you don't have to live there anymore.”

She nuzzled me in thanks before shying away a little and blushing, remembering that her sister was still present.

“You weren't kidding, Vinyl. This one is a keeper.” She winked and gave me a playful nudge to the ribs before standing up from the couch. “Well, it was nice to meet you finally, Octavia. Vinyl, I left your old mixing board by the door. See you two lovebirds later!” She waved before stepping out the door and shutting it behind her.

“She seemed very nice. Surprised you didn't mention her before, she's quite welcoming and didn't seemed bothered at all by the fact you're dating another mare.”

Vinyl shrugged and took ahold of her pad.

Tops has never really been judgemental on that kind of stuff, so it honestly just slipped my mind. I came out to her last year and she was proud of me. We've been meeting up regularly ever since.

“Well, I'd love to meet your parents eventually. I know they might not approve, so I won't force you if you don't want to.”

Maybe eventually. Not for a while at least.

“That's perfectly fine. So, what did you want for dinner?”

Pizza.

“Thank goodness, I was worried you were going to say something that required effort.”

Dinner was nice and casual, giggles and laughter coming from me every once and awhile. I had gotten used to Vinyls strange breathy way of laughter. Her giggles were sometimes melodic and beautiful, but it was clear that laughing like that hurt her, so her laughs became more and more breathy, less harsh on her throat.

We both agreed that it was time to head to bed, and after disposing of our empty pizza boxes, we walked upstairs together and entered my room. Our room now, I reminded myself with a smile. Vinyl lay down on the bed and raised a hoof, allowing me to rest my head on her soft chest. I breathed a sigh of satisfaction and closed my eyes, happy to be in the presence of the mare that I loved.

My eyes shot open and I froze. Did I really just think that? I did. That specific word shone above all the others. Love. Did I really love Vinyl? I mean, I liked her, I really, really, really liked her, but love? My mind began to swim with thoughts, her reactions to affections, the way she wrote about our relationship in her messages, the way she looked at me, everything pointing without a doubt to the fact that she felt the same. But was what I was feeling really love?

Vinyl is nice. She looks very pretty, particularly without her glasses. She smiles whenever I'm around her and her smile fills me with an amazing warmth. The way she holds me, the way she kisses me, is laced with an incredible amount of raw passion that filled me with that same passion and warmth. I wanted to hold her in my hooves, tell her everything would be okay when she's sad or worried, tell her about my day, tell her my own worries, tell her that I loved her, tell her that-

…

Oh Celestia. I love Vinyl Scratch.

A soft nudge from Vinyl broke me from my thoughts and I gasped, lifting my head off her belly and looking her in the eyes. A look of worry and confusion crossed her face and her magic searched for her writing pad.

What's wrong, beautiful?

“N-Nothing! No, no, all is well!” I said, probably a bit louder than I had intended based on Vinyl’s expression.

You're a terrible liar, you know?

“Oh, Vinyl,” I laughed out nervously. “Don't you worry at all! I'm fine, r-really!”

She shot me a disbelieving stare and a raised eyebrow that broke through my facade.

“Fine, I'm sorry. I just… I don't know how to say this… Vinyl, what do you think of me? Of… us?”

What do you mean?

“What do I mean? Uh… I mean, what does it feel like. Us. This thing that we have.”

It feels pretty amazing. I think you're pretty amazing. I think we are very well suited for each other.

“What do you think about when you see our future?”

Honestly, I see us together. Unless you do something stupid, like cheat on me (which I have no doubt in my mind you will not do) then I see us living a very happy life together.

“Life? You want to live with me?”

Don't know if you realized, but I literally moved in, like, today. We are living together.

“Living together doesn't mean having a life together. You want to live with me for…” She stopped me with another note.

For as long as you'll have me, Tavi. I have a feeling that will be a very, very long time.

“Vinyl…” My eyes welled up a little from her words. She was so confident in what she wanted. She said that she wanted me, and she said that she wanted to live with me potentially forever, so did that mean she…

“Vinyl…” I breathed in, steeling myself for what I was about to say. “Do you love me? Because… I think I love you.” I closed my eyes shut and turned away from Vinyl, half expecting her to get up and shout at me, despite that being a technical impossibility. A soft touch of a hoof brought my face back toward her and I slowly opened my eyes. I was greeted by a vision of her white eyelids only a split second before her soft lips touched mine. Her passion was almost exploding from the kiss. Her touch so tender that it could lull me to sleep if it weren't for how intense this kiss was. I was only broken from my trance when I tasted something salty hit my lips.

I opened my eyes and gasped as Vinyl looked at me. There was a shaky smile on her face, tears streaming from her eyes. I stared at her beautiful eyes, my own beginning to fill with tears. She looked to her side and pulled out her notepad again.

Yes, Octavia. I love you. I love you I love you I love you I love you

The words became more and more frantic and messy toward the end and she threw down the pad, pulling me into a tight embrace. She pecked my face over and over, leaving tiny wet marks as she covered me entirely in affection.

“Heheh, Vinyl!” I giggled uncontrollably, her rapid kisses leaving me in hysterics. “Stoooop!”

She did not stop.

Author's Note

Aaaaand I'm back. I'm still busy, so progress on all my stories will be slow, but I haven't given up on any of them.

Four - Words

“YOU TWO ARE WHAT!?” Berry Punch shouted, her face awash with disbelief. Her eyes darted between Vinyl and I, clearly trying her hardest to see us romantically together in any way. “H-how… How did this happen? You two? Together? As in like, you, Octavia,” She pointed to me with a hoof, “And you, Vinyl Scratch. The DJ. The famous ass DJ.”

A smile stretched across her lips.

“You two are snogging!” She chuckled, glaring at me with a devious smile. I relaxed, realizing that Berry had been messing with us. Vinyl relaxed noticeably as well and leant up against me, her breathing now slowing.

“Berry, you scared me! I thought you were going to be mad or something.”

“Tavia, you know I wouldn’t do that! I'm so happy you two got together. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm still surprised as heck, but now that I think about it, it's kind of a natural fit.”

Vinyl suppressed one of her breathy chuckles and poked my side as if to say “Well, she’s not wrong.”

“I-I guess I get what you mean. We are both gay, we are both musicians, and I guess personality wise, opposites do attract.” I shrugged as I admitted defeat.

“And that's what makes this great! C’mon, we gotta show the others.” Berry grabbed us by the hooves and pulled us through the busy crowd toward where Vinyl and I first met. Tonight, the same ponies that were there the first time had arrived too. Swift, Pepper, Sour Twist and Bold Line.

“Guys, guess what!” Berry shouted out to her friends.

“Huh?” Bold Line and Swift turned their heads to see us.

“Oh, hey Octavia. Hi Vinyl. Nice to see you again.” Bold Line said.

“Listen up guys, these two have something to tell you.” She said, pushing Vinyl and I forward.

“Uh…” I muttered, trying to think of what to say. Vinyl rolled her eyes and leant forward, placing an affectionate kiss on my nose, then a slightly longer one of my lips.

“Woohoo!” Pepper called out. “Congratulations you two! Never thought it’d happen with you being so snooty, Octavia. No offense.”

I giggled playfully and gave her a light nudge.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“So, how'd it happen?” Swift asked as we took our seat next to them.

“Uh, well, the first time I met you guys, I really got to… know her very well. I drank a bit much and Vinyl took me home and I… kinda kissed her.

“Aww.” Sour Twist smiled, her eyes watering up.

“I didn't like that I forced myself on her so I thought I ruined it, but Vinyl said she liked it… so we gave us a shot. It seems to have worked out really well.”

“Well, to me, it looks like it's time to party! Shake yer rumps, girls!” Berry shouted with a tipsy smile. I felt like letting loose a little tonight, but not that loose. Dancing was something I could just not enjoy, no matter how much I tried. Music was for listening, in my very non-explorative mind. I instead decided on a few drinks and hoofed my saddlebag to Vinyl before I went out to get them, then heading back. Vinyl was on a chair, a spot next to her reserved by my bag, allowing me to sit happily next to her without drinks.

“Wow, Tavia. You seem kinda different.” Berry mentioned as I passed out the drinks.

“How so?”

“I dunno, you're just a little… relaxed I guess. Still prissy as ever, but you look good doing it.”

“Thank you, Berry.”

“See? If I said you looked good before, you would roll your eyes and groan. I have a feeling someone's done this to you.” She giggled cheekily. “Vinyl, how have you made our Octavia even more amazing.”

She shrugged at me and smirked confidently. This I did roll my eyes at.

“Well, Vinyl’s definitely a good influence on Tavia.” Swift added.

“She is!” Berry raised her mug, shouting above the music. “To Vinyl and Octavia!”

The rest of our group raised their mugs, Vinyl the most confidently of all, before we all clinked our glasses together in cheers.

The celebrations had continued all through the night, and even at midnight, we weren't giving up. Partway through the night, my inebriated self had decided it would be a great idea to try dancing. Vinyl had laughed her adorable airy laugh as I butt-planted in the middle of the dance floor. I blushed, partly because of the embarrassment, but my face was already extremely red from drinking so much. Vinyl had even teased at calling me tomato face earlier in the night.

I grumbled as Vinyl helped me up, stumbling a little as I rested my weight on her. I drunkenly began to nuzzle up against her giggling as her mane tickled my neck a little.

“Hee hee! I love you, Vinyl. So much.” I said, leaning into her ear. She smiled back at me and mouthed “I love you too.”

I wished she could say it.

Suddenly, a pained look crossed Vinyl’s face and she split from my grip as she moved off, hastily weaving through the crowd. What was she up to? I stumbled after her, easily keeping track of her using her beautiful, vibrant mane, but falling behind a bit due to my drunken state.

“Vinyl?” I shouted out, my call falling on deaf ears. As I followed her, we reached the edge of the crowd, heading toward the bar. She glanced behind her, presumably looking for me, but her sight passed me. She turned around again and went forward, straight to where Berry was sitting. She tapped her on the shoulder and said something to Berry.

She said something to Berry. She said something. She said something. I felt a massive sinking feeling sweep through me. So many mixed emotions rushed through me. Confusion. Denial. Anger.

Was she lying to me? Was she actually able to talk?

Berry looked back at her and started talking back. She knew? She didn't freak out, she didn't look shocked, so she must have known she could talk. Why would she… would she lie to me?

My eyes were frozen over, watching her lips move up and down. Those same lips that I kissed at night. The same lips that I wished could say how she felt about me every day.

But it didn't happen. She didn't say she loved me. She wrote them. But she spoke to Berry?

“Why?” I said, stepping away as tears filled my eyes. “Why.” I turned around and walked away, dropping my vision down. I made my way forward, ignoring the sounds and ponies around me. They faded into the background, their presence becoming little more than an obstacle to avoid. I left through the entrance of the club and stared out into the night.

I stood there silently for a while. What was I doing? Why was I here and not with her? Was I really that angry with her? I couldn't tell what emotion was flooding my heart, but it was rushing in fast and violent, crushing all others in its wake. I knew I was sad, that much was obvious from my tears. I knew I was angry, the undirected rage I had bouncing around in my skull enough for that to be obvious.

I quickly re-assessed my thoughts on Vinyl. She was incredible, beautiful, amazing, and everything I ever wanted in mare. I knew this revelation would change our relationship, but I had no idea how. Of course, I still loved her, but some part of me knew that was part of the problem.

Then it clicked.

She could talk. This whole time, she could have said that she loved me back. Every time I longed for those words to come from her mouth, I knew they never would. But she could have said it.

I dropped down to my knees and curled inwards as the sinking sadness filled my stomach to the brim. I let out a short whimper and held my mouth pursed shut, scared of anyone hearing.

I shuddered a bit in shock when I heard the door to the club open. The silence that followed spoke more than words. I could hear her approaching from behind, her hoofsteps clopping softly on the stone.

“Why, Vinyl.”

The hoofsteps halted. I spun around, finally facing my confused looking marefriend.

“Why did you lie to me?” I said. It was more of a statement than a question, but one I needed an answer to.

She stepped back, confusion on her face. She pulled out her pad and scribbled setting down.

What's wrong? What do you mean, lie to you?

“Are you that cruel? You know full well what you did. You spoke.”

A look of dread and shock passed her face.

“Thought I wouldn't find out, huh? That you've been lying to me? Saying you can't speak?”

She frantically wrote something on her pad again.

Please, I'm so sorry you had to find out like this, but… I never meant to hurt you. I'm so sorry.

I ignored her apology.

“That doesn't make it better, Vinyl. A relationship is built on trust. I want to trust you, but this… I don't even get it! Why would you do it? Why would you say you can't talk when you really can?”

It's not black and white, Tavi.

“Well to me, it certainly seems like you walked up to Berry and started chatting away!” I spat, immediately regretting the venom in my voice. Her look of sadness immediately shook me from my rage and I jumped upward, running to Vinyl and embracing her.

“I-I’m so s-sorry!” I screamed into her ear, my tears dripping messily into our manes. “I didn't m-mean to shout.”

Vinyl said nothing and stroked my mane in silence.

“D-Do you forgive me?”

She nodded and I cried a little more.

“Do you love me?”

Vinyl pulled away from me with tears in her eyes and looked directly into mine. She opened her mouth.

“Oc… tay-vee… uh.” Vinyl pushed out, her words slurring, almost as if she was drunk. But she was not drunk. She hadn’t drunk anything the entire night. “I… am sa… sorly. I din't w-wahnt yoo t-to hee… hear me l-laa… like thith. It… ho… hurts.”

Every word was a mountain. Every syllable an obstacle.

“Oh, Vinyl…”

I knew what this feeling was. Guilt.

“Oc...Tavi. I loo… I love y-you.”

I pulled my beloved in close and kissed her. I knew in that moment, though I had gotten what I wanted, I hadn't needed it in the first place. Vinyl showed me how much she loved me every day. In the way she smiled as she listened to me. The way she stroked my mane when I was sad. The way that she kissed me. Every single thing she did showed her how much she loved me.

Our kiss continued into the night as we sat in the cold, only warm because of the closeness of our bodies. Vinyl’s kiss was filled with fire, a passion that burned so brightly that anything besides us was bleached away. The outside world disappeared once more and with it, so did all my anger, guilt, confusion, sadness, the only thing that remained being my own fiery love, brightly burning for Vinyl and Vinyl only.

My lungs slightly burning for oxygen made us separate for a few seconds, but as soon as I breathed in, Vinyl mashed her lips against mine again. We both giggled into the kiss at her eagerness, struggling to keep the kiss connected with our lips stretching into smiles. Eventually we conceded and I held her tightly, the warmth of her fur pressing against mine. I hadn't even noticed that the giggle from our kiss had evolved into a loud, joyous laugh. I held my beautiful marefriend close as she let out her airy giggle alongside me.

I pulled away from our embrace and stared into her beautiful, radiant eyes, shimmering with tears in the light of the bars neon sign.

“Vinyl, I love you. I'm so sorry I said all of those terrible things and jumped to conclusions. I should have trusted you. I'm sorry for-” I was silenced as an alabaster hoof covered my muzzle softly. Vinyl removed it and pecked me softly on the lips.

“I l-love you t-too. I oll… al...ways w-will.”

Author's Note

And now, this story comes to a close. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. An epilogue may show up in the future, but for now, we leave our lovers on a sweet note. Thank you all for reading, and thanks to my best friend in the whole wide world for proof reading for me.

See you, space pone. :heart: