> Parties, Preening, and PTSD
>  by VitalSpark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1 — It's Not Much of a Life You're Living
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl Scratch sat bolt upright in bed, dripping with sweat; she'd had the nightmare again. She looked at the sleeping figure beside her. She was glad she hadn't woken her; she knew that Octavia was already worried, but she'd worry even more if she knew how frequent the nightmares were becoming.

After her heart rate had slowed down, and she no longer felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she carefully and quietly got out of bed and, by the soft light of her horn, made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. The wine bottle was where she'd left it. She found a cleanish looking glass and used her magic to tip the contents of the bottle into the glass. She was surprised to see the glass was still half empty; had she really drunk almost a whole bottle that evening? No, Octavia had had a glass too, or at least Vinyl was fairly certain that she had. She downed the glass in one gulp, feeling the sharp sting of the potent red wine go down her throat, and looked for another bottle.

Once — it now seemed so long ago — night had been Vinyl's favourite time; a time for partying, sure, but afterwards also a time for cool, calm reflection. Far more mellow than daylight hours. Perhaps Nightmare Moon had been onto a good idea? But now the night was a time of fear and loneliness. She knew it was silly really, because it was during the daytime when it had happened, when they had come for her. But for whatever reason, she could cope with day times now. She could keep herself occupied. It was the night time, when she had time to think, that the fear took hold of her.

She found the bottle she was looking for and opened it, pouring herself another glass of wine. She drank this glass more slowly, savouring it while flipping through her record collection. She'd agreed to DJ at a birthday party the next afternoon, and she wanted to try out some different tunes. She'd felt that her sets were becoming a bit stale. She liked to work because it kept her occupied, but her heart wasn't really in it. She put on a good show and seemed to be the life and soul of every party; nopony suspected the truth; nopony but one.


❧


Octavia awoke to an empty bed, not for the first time that week. She felt the sheets on Vinyl's side of the bed, finding that they were soaked with sweat — it must have been another of the nightmares.

Octavia got up and opened the curtains, letting in the first few rays of Celestia's morning sun. She walked down the stairs to the kitchen, finding Vinyl asleep, face down on the table, surrounded by records. She picked up her wine glass and put it in the sink. She put the two empty bottles by the front door, ready to take back to Berry Punch to be recycled.

She started preparing a breakfast of boiled eggs, toast, porridge, and chopped fruit. When she was nearly finished, Vinyl started to stir. Octavia slid a cup of strong coffee along the table to the sleepy unicorn, who looked up at her, nodding her head in gratitude.

Vinyl took a sip of the hot, soothing liquid. Her head felt like it was being pounded, but she knew from experience that Octavia's coffee was strong enough to cure even the worst headaches. She looked around her for her empties, but saw that Octavia had already cleared them away. "I— err…"

Octavia interrupted. "You got up early and decided to do some preparation for your performance this afternoon?" She gave Vinyl a half-hearted smile.

Vinyl nodded. "My gig, yeah." She gathered together the records that she'd chosen and stacked them in a neat pile at the side of the table.

Octavia laid the table and the two mares sat down to have breakfast. Conversation was thin on the ground, and rather one-sided.

As they finished up there was a knock at the door. "Special Delivery!" Octavia went to the door. Vinyl peered around the corner to see her open it to a blonde-maned grey pegasus.

Octavia was chatting to the pegasus and they both burst into laughter — clearly somepony had said something amusing. Vinyl thought she seemed to be being a bit too friendly towards the mailmare. A pegasus too — she knew that Octavia had always had a thing for wings. It was only a matter of time before Octavia would find herself another mare. Vinyl didn't know why Octavia had stuck by her for so long — she knew she was only a shadow of her former self. Ever since the attack, she'd lost her lust for life, her very spirit. The mare she had been was long gone. She didn't know if Octavia was still around out of some misplaced sense of loyalty, or whether it was pure stubbornness. Octavia was the stubbornest mare she'd met (and Vinyl had met several mules), but even that was not going to keep her around forever; she'd find somepony else — a mare as beautiful as Octavia was bound to. Part of her even wished it would happen sooner, so she could be alone, and would no longer have to pretend to cope.

"Good news!" announced Octavia, beaming; Vinyl hadn't even noticed she'd come back into the room. "Well, aren't you going to ask me what it is?"

"Sorry," said Vinyl, "I was miles away. What's the good news?"

"Well…" Octavia hesitated. "The band and I have been invited back to Cant— back to play at the Grand Galloping Gala."

Vinyl smiled a rare smile, the twinkle in her eye showing Octavia how genuine it was. She felt proud of her marefriend, even if she knew she had no right to take pride in somepony else's achievements. "That is good news. It's a big thing to be asked just once, but this is… what… your fourth time?"

"Third. I am greatly honoured of course, but it really isn't such a big thing," Octavia said, downplaying it. "Anyway, I should go out now and tell the other band members. They'll be so excited!" Octavia adjusted her bow tie and went out the door, leaving Vinyl alone with her thoughts.


❧


Vinyl returned from her gig with an unusual sense of optimism. The party had been organized by Pinkie Pie, and Vinyl had spoken with her a lot, both before and after the event. Somehow that mare seemed to know how to brighten up anypony's day, even Vinyl's. Pinkie had reintroduced Vinyl to Twilight Sparkle, who had apparently been dying to see Vinyl. Twilight and Vinyl had sat and talked for a while, and the two ponies had come up with a rather interesting arrangement that Vinyl couldn't wait to tell Octavia about.

Vinyl opened the door to find Octavia sitting across the table from the sousaphone player in her band, Beauty Brass. This immediately put a damper on her mood. Beauty and Octavia had been in a relationship years ago, before Vinyl had even met Octavia, and as much as Octavia insisted that they were just friends now, Vinyl was sure that there was more to it than that, at least from Beauty's side.

Vinyl kept her shades on and walked up behind Octavia. "Hello, Beauty," she said. That mare's mere name was a source of annoyance for Vinyl. "Hi, Tavi." She nuzzled her marefriend's ear, in a way that could be regarded as affectionate, but Octavia recognized was as blatant an attempt to mark her territory as urinating all over her would have been. 

Vinyl sat down. Octavia gestured towards a cafetiere on the table. "We were just having a celebratory cup of coffee. After the news about the Gala, you understand."

A celebration deserved a proper drink. Vinyl glanced at the wine rack. She had been sure that there were several bottles remaining, but it was now empty. She used her magic to pour a cup of coffee instead.

Beauty Brass stood up. "It's about time I headed home now. It was nice to see you, Vinyl. Always a pleasure, Octavia." Beauty walked down the hallway and let herself out, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Octavia looked scornfully at Vinyl. "I do wish you'd get it through your head that Beauty isn't out to seduce me or something. And even if she were, I wouldn't be interested."

Vinyl took off her shades, stared at her coffee cup and said nothing.

Octavia tipped her own cup back, finishing the last of her drink. "Now, I appreciate that you won't want to come to Canterlot with us, so I've asked Lyra to come past once or twice while I'm away. She said that she and Bonny would be absolutely delighted to have you round for dinner, and—"

"You shouldn't have done that, Tavi," Vinyl interrupted.

"Oh, I know how you find Bon Bon a bore, but I think she's really very nice in her own way, and a great cook of course. I can't have you living on takeaways and frozen meals while I'm gone, can I?"

Vinyl defended herself. "I'm perfectly capable of cooking for myself!" And it was true — when she could be bothered, she could outcook most ponies. "But that's not what I meant anyway. I'm coming to Canterlot with you."

"You're… what?" asked Octavia in shock. Her surprise gave way to concern. "Are you sure that that's a good idea?"

Vinyl paused. If she were to be honest, then no, she wasn't sure it was a good idea. It could be a disastrous idea. But she knew she couldn't go on the way she'd been living. "I need to do this, Tavi."

Octavia gave Vinyl a moment before speaking. "Well, if you think you can handle it, then I think that's a very good decision. Besides which, you don't have to go anywhere or meet anyone while you're there. You can just stay in the hotel room if that would make you feel more comfortable being there."

Vinyl laughed, a genuine laugh. "It would be kinda hard to DJ the Gala afterparty from our hotel room!"

Octavia beamed; she knew that work was good for Vinyl. "The afterparty? That's fantastic news, Vi!"

Ever since that disastrous Gala a few years ago, with the cake and the rampaging animals, Celestia had asked Twilight Sparkle to organize a second smaller, less formal party after the Grand Galloping Gala was over. The first couple of these afterparties had been hosted in, of all places, a small doughnut shop in Canterlot, but recently they'd become so popular that they'd had to move into bigger venue. Octavia had never been to one, but she had heard from friends that they were very enjoyable.

Octavia walked around to the other side of the table, and nuzzled against Vinyl's ear affectionately. She was cautious of course — returning to Canterlot would be hard for the white unicorn — but she couldn't help feeling that this was a positive step for Vinyl. "Let's go to bed," she suggested.

"But we haven't had dinner yet."

Octavia tutted. "Screw dinner! I'm offering you my body, Vi, and all you can think about is your stomach?"

Vinyl smirked. "Well, I suppose if you put it like that…"
> Chapter 1½ [NSFW]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Octavia led Vinyl upstairs to the bedroom, her grey flank swaying as she walked up the steps. Her long obsidian tail swished from side to side hypnotically. Vinyl followed eagerly, ignoring the rumble from her stomach.

Entering the bedroom they shared, Octavia climbed onto the big double bed and lay on her back. Vinyl climbed on top of her, and wrapped her hooves around Octavia's head, leaning in to kiss her. She closed her eyes and kissed Octavia gently and cautiously on the lips.

Octavia responded with passion, parting her lips and letting her tongue slide into Vinyl's mouth. Vinyl was never able to understand what such a beautiful, sophisticated mare like Octavia saw in her. She ran her hoof through Octavia's silky mane while they kissed, caressing Octavia gently like the delicate angel she was.

Octavia's hooves slid down Vinyl's body to her flank, pulling Vinyl towards her, and pressing their furry bellies and chests together. Vinyl could feel Octavia's heart beating quickly.

Octavia broke off the kiss to take a breath, then strained her neck to kiss Vinyl's cheeks, mane, and ears, nibbling on the tips of Vinyl's ears, a little harder than Vinyl was used to, eliciting a squeal of delight from the unicorn. Octavia's mouth returned to Vinyl's and she urgently kissed her marefriend.

Vinyl hungrily kissed her lover back, her tongue exploring every inch of Octavia's mouth. Her hoof moved from Octavia's mane to softly stroke her cheek and neck.

Again Octavia drew breath, and kissed a line up Vinyl's nose and forehead to the base of her sensitive horn, teasing it slightly with her tongue. Vinyl's eyes shot open but her hopes for hornplay were dashed when Octavia returned her attention to the unicorn's lips once more, delving her tongue back into Vinyl's mouth.

Vinyl closed her eyes again and started moving her body up and down rhythmically, so that the whole length of their bodies rubbed against each other. Fur rubbed against bellies; fur rubbed against nipples; fur rubbed against marehoods too. The feeling of Octavia's fur brushing the most sensitive parts of her body was amazing, and Vinyl could tell from Octavia's impassioned kiss that her own fur was having the same effect on Octavia too.

Octavia wrapped her back hooves around Vinyl's flank, pulling her in closer, increasing the friction between their moving bodies. She shut her eyes and ran one of her front hooves though Vinyl's spiky but still soft mane.

Octavia moaned faintly. The tantalizing motion of Vinyl's fur against her pussy felt glorious, but was frustratingly nowhere near enough. She kissed another trail up to Vinyl's ears and whispered, "hey Vi, didn't you say you wanted to eat?" Vinyl looked at her in confusion. She had been hungry, but this was no time to stop for a snack. Octavia's eyes flicked downwards and Vinyl understood what she wanted.

Vinyl left a trail of kisses down Octavia's neck, circling around her cute little bowtie, to her chest and belly. Vinyl used her tongue to gently expose Octavia's little nipples, normally hidden by her fur, and flicked them with the tip of her tongue. Octavia groaned in response. "Keep going, Vi," said Octavia, impatient for Vinyl to reach her marehood.

Vinyl gently bit on one of Octavia's nipples. "What? I thought this was what you wanted?" she teased.

Octavia gently nudged Vinyl's head further south. "You know what I want," she whimpered.

Vinyl looked up to her, making eye contact. "No, I don't," she said with mock innocence, "please tell me."

Octavia rolled her eyes, slightly embarrassed at having to say the words. "Suck me. Suck my pussy!" she begged.

Vinyl smiled as if to say, 'well, why didn't you ask me earlier?' but then wordlessly kissed Octavia's lower belly while shuffling into a more comfortable position between her legs.

A smile came to Octavia's muzzle and a blush to her cheeks. Her legs quivered when she felt Vinyl's muzzle on her inner thigh and her tongue licking the soft, short fur there. Vinyl could smell Octavia's arousal as her tongue flicked over the fur of her thighs. She kissed a row of kisses down each of Octavia's thighs.

Octavia put a hoof of the back of Vinyl's head and gently but firmly guided her up to her marehood. Vinyl used her magic to part Octavia's pussy lips, and Octavia sighed softly as Vinyl gently licked up and down the length of her slit. Sweet and slightly salty, Vinyl had tasted this pussy hundreds of times before, but she knew she could never get bored of it.

Vinyl tenderly sucked on Octavia's lips. "Mmmhmmn, that's good," breathed Octavia, closing her eyes and tilting her hips up to give Vinyl better access.

Vinyl planted a series of kisses all over Octavia's pussy before using her tongue to flick her clit a few times. Octavia's breathing became heavier and faster. Vinyl sucked softly on her clit before returning her attention to Octavia's pussy lips, licking them up and down. Octavia's tail started flicking involuntarily from side to side, and Vinyl pushed it away with her hoof.

Octavia's eyes flew open when the white unicorn suddenly thrust her tongue inside her. "Y-yes, yes!" she squealed, gripping the bed sheets with her front hooves. Octavia writhed on the bed as Vinyl moved her tongue in and out and side to side within her, relishing the tangy taste of Octavia's juices.

Octavia gently rocked her hips back and forth, fucking Vinyl's tongue. Her hooves went to her little nipples which were erect with excitement and just about peeking out of her grey fur. She rubbed and massaged her small teats while Vinyl penetrated her pussy with her tongue.

Vinyl switched back to licking up and down the length of Octavia's slit and the earth pony groaned with disappointment. Vinyl fervently lapped at her lover's pussy, eager to get every drop of her nectar. Octavia's panting became faster and louder.

"Oh, Celestia, yes," shrieked Octavia when she finally felt Vinyl's lips on her swollen clitoris. Vinyl sucked her marefriend's clit, gently at first but increasingly hard, and flicked her tongue over it inside her mouth. Octavia's hips started to buck frenziedly against Vinyl, but Vinyl had had plenty of practice riding out this earth pony's powerful thrusts before. She used her hooves to hold Octavia a little steadier and kept her lips wrapped around her clit.

Vinyl's horn glowed as she used her magic to rub and stimulate inside Octavia's foalhole at the same time as she sucked on her swollen nub. "K-keep going, Vi, n-n-nearly there!" wheezed Octavia, who could feel her pussy growing warmer and starting to tingle.

Vinyl did as requested, and stepped up the intensity, sucking mercilessly at Octavia's clit and using her magic to massage the inside of her pussy. Octavia took a sharp breath and her chest heaved. With the feeling of a dam bursting, the warmth inside her loins swept over her body. Her head thrashed to the side and she cried out as wave after wave of pleasure radiated across her body.

Vinyl could feel Octavia's pussy pushing back against her magic, clenching and squeezing the field of magical energy that was inside her. Her pussy drizzled marecum and Vinyl quickly released Octavia's clit to drink down every drop of it.

"Aaahhh…" sighed Octavia, releasing a deep breath, and gently stroking Vinyl's mane. She put a hoof on Vinyl's cheek, guiding her upwards. Vinyl crawled back up the bed to lie beside Octavia as the mare regained her breath. Vinyl licked her lips, tasting the last of Octavia's marecum before kissing her deeply, their tongues writhing against each other in passion.

Octavia broke off the kiss and pushed Vinyl away. "Give me a mo-moment…" she said. "C-catching breath." Vinyl smiled and booped her on the nose with her hoof, prompting a small giggle from Octavia.

After a few moments, Octavia's breathing and heart rate had returned to normal. She kissed Vinyl softly on the nose. "What a good little pony you are." She caressed Vinyl's cheek before letting her hoof trail down Vinyl's side to rest on her flank. She gave Vinyl a gentle kiss, then pulled away to look her in the eyes. "Should Tavi thank you properly?" she asked, fluttering her eyelids. Vinyl nodded.

Although Octavia looked like like such a delicate mare, her refined exterior belied her earth pony strength. She pushed Vinyl's shoulders, easily flattening her on the bed — not that the unicorn had any desire to fight back — and climbed on top of her.

She leaned down to kiss Vinyl roughly, pushing her tongue into her mouth for a lust-fueled wrestle against Vinyl's. She pressed down hard against Vinyl's muzzle, shoving her spiky mane hard against the pillow — it would need styling in the morning. Vinyl only broke away to gasp for air for a second before returning to the kiss.

Octavia sucked ravenously on Vinyl's top lip before kissing her way up to the base of Vinyl's horn. Vinyl's heart skipped a beat when she felt Octavia's tongue touch her horn. Vinyl shivered as Octavia gently licked the underside.

"Mmmm…" sighed Vinyl, as Octavia licked up and down the length of her horn. She felt it beginning to glow automatically, but closed her eyes to concentrate and bring her magic under control.

Octavia planted a kiss on the tip of the horn, thankful that Vinyl kept it well-filed. She hungrily swirled her tongue in circles around the end of the horn.

Vinyl's eyes flew open as Octavia wrapped her lips around her horn's tip. Vinyl clenched her teeth and shut her eyes tight again to keep her concentration while Octavia moved her head up and down, quickly taking the entire shaft of Vinyl's horn into her warm, wet mouth and sucking on it lustfully while Vinyl moaned in pleasure.

Vinyl instinctively started bucking her hips. Octavia slid a back leg between Vinyl's legs to give her something to buck against, and Vinyl's pussy rubbed against the soft grey fur of Octavia's leg.

Octavia pressed down on Vinyl's wet pussy, rubbing the full length of it up and down with her hoof, hoping to charm an orgasm out of her at that end as well as her horn. While she sucked, she let her lower teeth scrape along the underside of Vinyl's horn, prompting delirious squeals from Vinyl.

The barriers fell and Vinyl released her magic. A cascade of fizzing, glowing bursts erupted from her horn like a miniature firework show. Most were caught by Octavia's mouth. She gulped them down — they tasted of fizzy lemonade — Octavia was always surprised by how different it tasted every time.

At the same time, Vinyl came hard against Octavia's hoof, dousing it with juices. She shuddered as two orgasms simultaneously wracked her body. She squealed and pushed Octavia's hoof away from her now ultra-sensitive pussy.

Octavia released Vinyl's horn and bent down to kiss her mare. Her lips burned with passion and she buried her tongue deep inside Vinyl's mouth, letting the unicorn taste her own magic.

After a few minutes of kissing, Octavia climbed off Vinyl and lay beside her. They kissed gently and romantically for a few minutes, whispering random I-love-yous into each others' ears. Eventually Vinyl yawned and rolled over, covered in sweat and marecum, not all of it her own, to try to get some rest. Octavia wrapped her legs around her marefriend protectively and the two ponies drifted off to sleep.
> Chapter 2 — Round and Around and Around and Around We Go
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl woke from another nightmare, covered in sweat. Quietly extricating herself from bed so as not to disturb Octavia, she crept to the bathroom. She was starving, but getting herself cleaned up seemed like more of a priority at the moment. She used her magic to turn the taps and the shower sprung to life. After a minute, once the water had heated up, she stepped into the shower and allowed the warm spray to wash her clean.

As she towelled herself off, she reflected on the fact that there were only twelve days — less than two weeks — before the Gala in Canterlot.

Canterlot. The horror of Vinyl's last trip to Canterlot, and the attack, played out in her mind. She slumped down against the tiled wall and closed her eyes. She felt something soft wipe her face and looked up to see Octavia wiping away her tears.

"I thought I'd heard you in here," Octavia said.

Vinyl sniffed and stood up, not wanting Octavia to realize how pathetic she was. "Yes… I… I thought I'd have a shower."

"Good idea; I should probably have one myself." Octavia stepped into the shower and turned the taps by hoof.

Vinyl left the bathroom and went downstairs to make some instant coffee. Octavia soon joined her and they had breakfast together.

Finishing her oats, Octavia attempted to start a conversation. "So, this afterparty thing. It will be your biggest performance since… your biggest performance in years, right?"

Vinyl finished the last of her coffee and smirked. She didn't know why, but Octavia referring to her gigs as 'performances' always amused her. "I suppose."

"And you feel prepared for it?"

"Yeah," answered Vinyl. But thinking about it, she wondered how prepared she really was. For the last few years, she'd survived mostly by doing kids' parties and other small events. It paid well enough, but she hadn't been pushing herself as an artist. She'd be DJing in front of Canterlot ponies — ponies who were invited to all the most exclusive parties, who had heard some of the best DJs Equestria had to offer. She would need to up her game, and she only had twelve days to prepare for it.

"Well," said Octavia, "I suppose I should head off to band practice. There are several new pieces that we hope to be able to perform at the Gala."

Vinyl put on her shades and headed out to the garden, to the soundproofed shed she'd built for practising. She lost herself in sound.


❧


The sight of a small, blue unicorn in the corner of the shed made Vinyl jump with fright. She turned the music down to a conversational level. "Why aren't you at school, moppet?"

The filly grinned. "Because it's half past three!"

Vinyl checked the clock on the wall. She hadn't even noticed that she'd skipped lunch. "Holy Celestia! I hadn't realized it was so late!" She looked at the filly again who gave her an amused smirk. "Better not tell your parents you heard me swear, Bloo."

Bloo and her family lived next door to Vinyl and Octavia. The fence between the two gardens was ancient and had collapsed in a couple of places, but neither household cared enough about their gardens to repair it. Bloo's garden was a simple patch of grass, which they at least made an effort to keep short for the kids to play hoofball on. Vinyl and Octavia's garden had perhaps once, before they moved in, been beautifully landscaped, but was now an overgrown mess. Vinyl was only able to get to the shed because frequent use of that particular route had worn a path that grass and weed alike refused to grow on.

In recent months, a path from Bloo's garden to Vinyl's shed had started to emerge too. Bloo was becoming a frequent visitor. Bloo was a small unicorn, even for her age. She loved watching Vinyl play, and hoped to one day be just like her neighbour. For her part, Vinyl quite liked the kid, and did her best to hide her depression when she came around.

"Whatcha doin'?" asked Bloo.

Vinyl thought it perfectly obvious what she'd been doing; the same thing she always did in this shed: playing music. "Practising for a gig that's coming up."

Blue bounced up and down. "Ooh! Where?! Can I come?"

Vinyl laughed. "I don't think so, moppet. This one's way past your bedtime. And it's in Canterlot."

"Really? That must be so exciting!"

"Yes, really exciting," said Vinyl, not wanting to spoil Bloo's idealistic notion of the city. "Hey, why don't you stay here and listen for a while? Tell me what I'm doing wrong."


❧


Bloo returned the next day after school too. Vinyl played music for her for a while, and then they sat down to drink some water together.

"So you've played in Canterlot before?" asked Bloo.

Vinyl avoided answering the question. "You're interested in my career a lot lately, moppet."

"Tavi told me you played there at Princess Cadence's wedding."

Vinyl nodded.

"What was that like? Did you get to meet the princess?" Bloo was excited.

Vinyl thought about the wedding. Pinkie had gotten her the gig. She got Vinyl a lot of gigs in those days, and got Vinyl nearly all of her gigs these days. "Yes, I met her. Princess Twilight too. Course in those days, Twilight wasn't a princess." It had been a garden party, with music and dancing. The highlight of the evening, other than the wedding itself, was when the best mare herself had taken to the stage. Until then, Vinyl had only thought of Twilight Sparkle as the town's librarian, but that mare sure had a good set of lungs on her. It had been a brilliant party, but her thoughts returned to the day before the wedding.



"Vinyl? Vinyl? Are you OK?" asked Bloo. Vinyl wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there, thinking. "What's wrong?"

Vinyl sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye. "It's nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing. Do you want to talk about it?"

"What good is talking?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Bloo, "but is always helps me."

"Well," started Vinyl, "it's no great secret. I suppose it can't hurt to tell you. What have you learnt about Changelings at school?"

Bloo shifted uneasily. "Not much." 

"Well, they came for us. They used the wedding as an opportunity to invade Canterlot. Thousands of them. I was in the middle of setting up in the garden, when one of them landed right in front of me, its horrible insect eyes peering at me. It was… well… I was terrified."

Vinyl remembered the buzzing of its wings. And those teeth — she would never forget them for the rest of her life. And then Octavia had appeared, out of nowhere. She hadn't even been planned to come to Canterlot that day. And then the changeling had held Vinyl down and Vinyl had had to watch while Octavia had done horrible, unnatural things. Things that provoked exactly the emotional response from Vinyl that the changelings desired. Of course it hadn't been Octavia — it had been another changeling — but Vinyl hadn't known that at the time — how could she? They weren't taught much about changelings at school. Once the changelings had been sated, the Octavia changeling had gone back to her normal form, and only then had Vinyl realized the deception. Before she had been able to do anything about it, the changelings had just disappeared, swept away by a field of energy.

"The changelings… they… they make you feel what you don't want to feel. They feed off it. It's not right."

Bloo nodded.

"Anyway, once they were gone, well, I just picked up where I left off, and when the real wedding happened the next day, I was fine. But I wasn't fine. It wasn't until I got back to Ponyville and had a few days off, not doing anything, that it hit me: I could have been killed. If the changelings hadn't gotten the correct emotional response out of me, who knows what they would have done?"

Vinyl took off her shades and used a hoof to wipe her eyes. The little unicorn put her arms around the older one.

Vinyl sniffed. "You're a good kid, Bloo."


❧


The next day, Bloo didn't come by after school. Vinyl got on with her practice, but she was disappointed that her little friend hadn't shown up. It had felt good to open up about what had happened in Canterlot, even if she couldn't tell such a little filly about all the details. But now, it seemed all that unloading had scared her off.

When Vinyl felt her stomach rumble, she packed up her things and headed back inside to prepare some dinner for herself and Octavia. Octavia returned home just as Vinyl finished cooking, and they dined in near silence.

After reading for a while, they both went to bed. Vinyl drifted off to sleep with Octavia's legs wrapped around her.


❧


Vinyl got up early the next day. For once, her sleep hadn't been disturbed by nightmares. After Octavia had prepared them both a quick breakfast, Vinyl put on her shades and went out to practice, filling the shed with a blur of sound and light.

By the time the afternoon arrived, Vinyl was pretty satisfied with her improvement. She'd come a long way in the last few days, though she still wasn't maybe up to her standard from a few years ago. Her lighting rig needed some repairs and improvements too; some of the bulbs had gone.

She was starting to pack up her stuff when she heard a knock at the door. She opened it to find Bloo standing outside politely waiting to be invited in. Vinyl gestured for her to step inside, and the filly did so without hesitation. Vinyl smiled at her. "I thought I'd scared you off, moppet."

"What?" asked the blue filly.

"When you didn't come by yesterday I thought I'd lost a friend."

Bloo smiled and shook her head. "I have hoofball practice after school on Wednesdays."

Vinyl grinned. "I was just packing up, but if you want, I can can play you a few tunes? I won't see you tomorrow — I have a gig."

"I can't come tomorrow anyway. I've got a birthday party to go to."

Vinyl looked at the filly. "It's not… Noi's party by any chance, is it?" Bloo nodded. "Well, that's my gig! Fancy a preview of my set?"

Bloo smiled and bounced up and down with excitement.


❧


The party went well, some banging wubs were played, and the kids all loved the music. Noi's mother, Banana Fluff, paid Vinyl her bits.

Vinyl hadn't told Octavia yet that she'd turned down any money for the Gala afterparty. She knew that Octavia would be mad at her — Vinyl hadn't been making much of a contribution to household finances lately. But she was getting paid in something far more valuable than money. Although Twilight Sparkle had taken quite a bit of convincing, she'd had agreed to pay Vinyl in a way that Octavia would find far more enjoyable.

On her way out, she sought out Bloo and gave the little unicorn a big hug. Bloo's cheeks turned crimson and her friends all gathered around her, excited that she was on such close terms with a superstar DJ.

When Vinyl got home again, it was too late to practice. Over dinner, she and Octavia discussed how Octavia's new pieces were coming on. Everything seemed to be on track for the Gala, though Octavia still worried about whether the band were really good enough to play at such as prestigious event.

Vinyl flicked through the latest copy of the Ponyville Express, the rather bland local rag. Octavia was engrossed in some historical romance novel. They went to bed early as Vinyl had another gig booked in for the next day, and it was sure to be a late one.


❧


Octavia got up a couple of hours after the sun had started streaming through a crack between the curtains of the bedroom window. She watched Vinyl sleeping peacefully and decided it would be best not to wake her just yet. Vinyl wouldn't need to start preparing for her performance until the early afternoon.

She went downstairs and put the kettle on, opening a cupboard to get the coffee out. Behind the coffee were half a dozen wine bottles that Octavia had removed from the wine rack last weekend and hidden where she knew Vinyl would never look. Vinyl never made proper coffee. Vinyl would settle for instant, but was always happier to drink real coffee that somepony else had made.

She drank her first cup of coffee for the morning and sat down to write a shopping list for when she went to the market later. They'd be going to Canterlot in a few days so wouldn't need to get as much food as they would for a usual week.

An hour or so later, having made her list, and read a little of Vinyl's newspaper, she made another pot of coffee, and went upstairs to wake Vinyl. Vinyl was still sleeping peacefully in bed, wrapped in sheets, with sunlight streaming down on her creating a halo effect around her mane. Octavia kissed her gently on the cheek and Vinyl's eyelids fluttered open revealing the sparkling magenta eyes that she'd fallen in love with, still so full of life.

Octavia stroked Vinyl's mane. "Wakey, wakey, Vi. I'm just going down to the market. I've made you some coffee — it's on the kitchen table. I'll be back in a couple of hours." She gave Vinyl another kiss on the cheek and trotted downstairs.

Vinyl got up groggily and headed to the shower. She was showered and dried in five minutes and headed downstairs. Vinyl poured herself a cup of coffee and grimaced. She'd left it too long and it was too cool to drink really. She forced it down anyway as she knew that she would be having a late night.

Having finished her coffee and eaten a bowl of cereal, she headed out to the shed to pack her gear for the evening. It was a benefit concert; the Ponytones were headlining, but DJ PON-3 was the opening act. A few years ago, the Ponytones had been her support act, but now it was the other way around — they were on the rise, and she was on the fall. The principle of 'be nice to those you meet on your way up, because you'll meet them again on the way down' had paid off… the Ponytones had requested Vinyl by name as their support act.

When she got back to the house a couple of hours later, Octavia was packing the shopping away into the cupboards. "Have you been getting ready for your performance tonight then?"

Vinyl nodded confirmation. "Are you coming to this one?"

"Of course," replied the grey mare, "when do I ever turn down an opportunity to see you play?"

Vinyl shrugged. After a moment's awkward silence she said, "right, I'm going to pack my stuff onto the wagon."

"Already?" asked Octavia.

"Yeah, I want to get started early. Check sound levels, that kind of thing."

Octavia put away a small bale of hay. "Well, I can't come right away; there's so much housework that needs doing. Beauty's supposed to be coming by tomorrow, and this place is a state. You get going now and I'll come along later."

Vinyl shrugged, put on her shades, and headed out to start loading up the wagon, her horn already glowing as she stepped out of the door.


❧


Vinyl smoothly let the next tune start to blend in as the current one's beats started to fade out. She took another swig of Dodge Junction's finest, straight from the bottle, and let the sickly sweet cherry liqueur swirl around her mouth before swallowing. It tasted like cough medicine, but it certainly did the job.

A sea of ponies danced in the field in front of her. Octavia was there, at the back, as promised, looking somewhat ill at ease with the choice of music. Vinyl wasn't sure why Octavia even bothered coming to her gigs, house being almost the antithesis of everything Octavia loved about music.

With the old record played out and the new one in full swing, Vinyl started queuing up the final tune of the night. She drained the bottle while she waited for the right point in the music to start mixing in the last song, a remix of a Ponytones favourite. She dropped the empty bottle on the floor and it clattered against the first one. The crowd cheered as Find the Music in You (Fluttershy Epic Dub Mix) started — they were all Ponytones fans after all. Vinyl pumped her hoof in the air with the music, and saw a hundred other hooves mirror her.

As the song was drawing to an end, she left the stage, leaving her rig to be tidied up by the stage crew. Walking backstage she heard the crowd chanting "DJ PON-3! DJ PON-3! DJ PON-3! DJ PON-3!" She smiled as the world around her started spinning.


❧


Vinyl woke up, her head feeling like she'd gone three rounds against Bulk Biceps. She groaned and rolled over, falling out of bed and landing tangled in sheets. She rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. What had happened?

She tried to piece together last nights' events, but couldn't remember anything after the last song. Had she passed out? She couldn't remember eating much yesterday. She really needed to take better care of herself. Too much exertion and not enough food. Her mouth felt sticky and dry and she went to the bathroom to gargle with some water. As she spat out the water, she felt like she was going to be sick. She waited for a moment, and the feeling passed.

On unsteady hooves she gingerly made her way down the stairs. Hearing Octavia in the kitchen, she headed in that direction. As she came through the doorway, she saw Octavia deep in conversation with Beauty Brass. She'd forgotten that damned mare was visiting today! Vinyl quickly whipped on her shades, obscuring her puffy eyes, and sat down on at the table with them. "Morning, Tavi! Morning, Beauty!" she said with mock cheer.

"Good afternoon, Vinyl," said Beauty, smiling smugly.

"Would you like some coffee?" asked Octavia. Vinyl nodded, and Octavia poured her a cup. "We were just talking about your performance last night," Octavia continued.

Vinyl grimaced. "Oh."

"Yes, I was just telling Beauty about how popular your act was. I know you were otherwise occupied at the end of the show, but I had a chance to speak to several of the concert-goers and they were all very impressed. I think you picked up quite a few new fans last night."

Vinyl smiled. "Oh?"

"Yes, some of them even said that your act had eclipsed the Ponytones."

Beauty laughed in a seemingly friendly manner. "I don't know about that. The Ponytones, well, they play proper music. No offense, Vinyl. And they, well, they actually sing it themselves."

Vinyl saw Octavia scowl at Beauty. Vinyl smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "Not all of us have your innate talent for blowing air through metal pipes, Beauty. We have to make do with what we can."

Beauty stood up. "I'd better be going now," she huffed. "Good afternoon, Octavia. Good afternoon again, Vinyl. I'll see myself out." She made her way towards the door.

Once they'd heard the door close, Octavia let rip at Vinyl. "Why do you have to be so rude to my friends, Vi?! I don't have many close friends since we moved to Ponyville. You know I don't socialize as easily as you do. I don't see why you feel the need to insult one of the few old friends that I have!"

Vinyl shrugged. "She started it."

"I know she did! I expect it from her! I don't expect it from you though. You're better than that."

"No, Tavi. I'm really not." Vinyl finished her coffee and got up. "I need to go back to the field; pick up my stuff."

"No, you don't, Vinyl," sighed Octavia. "It's in your shed."

Vinyl was confused. "Oh, I can't remember bringing it back."

"You didn't, Vinyl. I did. I might just be a simple cellist, but pulling a wagon laden with your equipment, while carrying a drunken unicorn home, is not beyond me. I am an earth pony, after all."

Vinyl sat down again and sheepishly apologized. "Sorry."

"No matter," said Octavia, standing up.

Vinyl passed the rest of the day reading, though she found it hard to concentrate with her headache. Octavia popped out to pick up a few things for dinner, and pottered around in the kitchen for most of the rest of the day. After their meal, Vinyl went to bed and fell asleep as soon as her tired head hit the pillow.


❧


When Vinyl woke up, Octavia had already left. She rubbed her eyes and went downstairs for some cereal. Having eaten a couple of bowls of oats, she put on her shades and went down to her shed to practice. Between the kid's party, the Ponytones gig, and yesterday's total wipeout, she'd had three days away from her practice regime, and it felt good to be back in the shed.

Around lunch time she popped back to the house to scoff a couple of apples and have a cup of instant coffee. Once she'd finished, she took a second cup back to the shed to drink while she went through some of her more recent purchases to choose some tunes for the afterparty.

A few hours later a familiar visitor showed her face. "Hi, Vinyl."

"Hey, it's my favourite filly," said Vinyl and ruffled Bloo's mane with her hoof. Bloo blushed.

"Whatcha doing?" asked the little unicorn.

The DJ held up a pile of records she's chosen. "Just picking some tunes for this gig in Canterlot on Friday."

"Can I see?" said Bloo.

"Sure." Vinyl levitated the records over to Bloo, who picked them up with her own magic and started flicking through them.

"So, this gig is a really big deal then?"

"You could say that," said Vinyl. Bloo didn't say anything so Vinyl felt obliged to fill the silence. "A few years ago I was the hottest DJ in Equestria. Lately though… well… not so much. This gig is a chance to put DJ PON-3 back on the musical map… re-establish my reputation."

Bloo passed the records back. "You'll always be the hottest DJ in Equestria," she said, blushing again, and looking at the floor.

Vinyl smiled. "Thanks, moppet. You wanna hear some of these then?" Bloo nodded. Vinyl put the first record onto her decks and gave Bloo a preview of the Gala afterparty.


❧


The door swung shut behind Vinyl as she stepped into Neon's shop. The shop wasn't one of those boutiques with everything laid out attractively; no, it was wall-to-wall shelving units, with stock piled up haphazardly on every shelf, and even large piles on the floor.

"Gimme some hoof, Neon," she said, announcing her presence.

The shop owner had been restacking a shelf at the back of the shop and turned to see Vinyl holding up her hoof. He gave her a hoofbump. "PON-3! Long time, no see!"

Vinyl chuckled. "Your equipment's too damn reliable! How do you expect to get repeat business if everything you sell lasts so damn long?!"

Neon Lights smiled. "How would I expect to get repeat business if it didn't?"

Vinyl thought about it. "You got me there, Neon."

Neon Lights had been Vinyl Scratch's main supplier of electronics ever since she started in the business. She got her mixing decks, amps, speakers, lighting, everything from him. He'd been in the DJing business himself back in the ancient past, so he knew what was what. "What can I do you for?" he asked, dusting off his hooves.

"Lighting," said Vinyl, "lighting. I have a whole list. Is that OK?"

"Of course, what do you need?"

Vinyl tried to remember what she needed. "OK, I want a four colour lighting rig with motors I can fit rotating gobos onto."

"Sure."

"I'm going to need a couple of strobes on long leads so I can place them at the edge of the room and control them from my decks."

Neon nodded. "OK."

"And one of those mirror-ball effect LED lights. You know the ones?"

"I do."

"And I'm gonna need it all by Thursday morning." Vinyl sucked air through her teeth. She was aware this was a big ask — she ought to have come last week.

Neon smiled. "I have all that in stock. You can take it now if you like. Do you need gobos cutting for that rig, or have you got them already?"

A look of relief passed across Vinyl's face. "I'm just using my old ones."

Neon busied himself assembling the things she'd asked for. "Sounds like you're preparing for a big show. You don't use strobes for kiddie parties."

"You could say that," said Vinyl.

"I heard you killed at the Ponytones' gig. Gave them a hard act to follow."

Vinyl smiled. "You weren't there?"

Neon chuckled. "No, it was past my bed time. The missus doesn't let me stay out past six these days." He put the strobe lights on the counter. "OK, that's everything. That will be eighty-four bits."

"Is it OK if you write me an invoice for it? I'm billing this to the client."

"Oooh… very mysterious. Sure thing." He took out a pad of paper and scribbled some numbers onto it before levitating the top sheet over to Vinyl.

"Thanks, Neon," she called, straining to use her magic to float the invoice and all the heavy equipment out to her cart.


❧


The next day, Vinyl was in her shed, getting a final practice session in when the door swung open and Bloo stepped in. "I thought you'd have hoofball practice today, moppet."

"I do," said Bloo, "I don't have long before I have to go."

Vinyl took off her shades and ruffled Bloo's mane. "Well, it's nice to see you. Want to listen to some music?"

Bloo shook her head. "I don't really have time."

"OK," said Vinyl, confused, "so what are you doing here?"

"I really wanted to wish you luck for Canterlot. Not that you need it. You're going to be great! You're the best." Bloo looked at the floor and kicked the ground with her hooves.

"Thanks, Bloo," said Vinyl, and gave the filly a long hug.

After a few moments, Bloo broke away from the hug. "I really need to go now. Bye, Vinyl!" She trotted away before Vinyl could see the blush that had come to her cheeks.
> Chapter 3 — Something in the Way you Move
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl woke up the next day to the sound of Octavia opening and closing drawers, packing their bags for Canterlot. She rolled out of bed and gave her a helping hoof.

After lunch Octavia and Vinyl met Beauty, Parish, and Frederic at Ponyville station. As the only unicorn in the group, Vinyl helped load their bags and instruments onto the train.

The journey to Canterlot only took twenty minutes. While Octavia discussed details of their performance with the rest of the band, Vinyl gazed out of the window, lost in thought. Canterlot came into view, the castle towering over the rest of the city which was built into the mountainside on multiple levels, giving Equestria's bustling capital a deceptively compact appearance. The city looked almost charming, bathed in pink through her shades.

The train pulled into the station and Vinyl helped unload their stuff onto a pair of trolleys which would be pushed by porters. "Careful!" complained Parish, "you're going to scratch the gold leaf!" Vinyl sighed — Parish was almost as bad as Beauty.

Octavia intervened before it had a chance to escalate. "Parish, leave Vinyl alone!" She looked at the station clock. "Come on, we need to get a move on. We're meeting Concerto and Symphony at the hotel. They'll have the room keys." Vinyl loaded Octavia's cello onto a trolley. "Vinyl, remember, gentle… it's a delicate instrument."

Parish Nadermane grumbled. "So you're allowed to complain and I'm not?" he said under his breath.

Vinyl had feared walking the streets of Canterlot for so long, but now she was doing it they were just ordinary streets, the same as in Ponyville or any other town in Equestria.

Soon they arrived at the hotel to find the band's violinists arguing with the poor earth pony behind the hotel's desk. "Check your books again!" said an angry-looking Concerto.

Octavia walked up behind the violinists and looked at the hotel mare's name tag. "Now, Miss Luckette, what seems to be the problem?"

"This foalish mare has misplaced one of our bookings," complained Concerto before the receptionist had had a chance to answer.

The nervous mare behind the desk stammered, "I-I have a twin room booked for Messrs Nadermane and Horseshoepin, a single room for a Miss Brass, and a double room for Concerto and Symphony Sounds. There is n-no booking for an Octavia Melody."

"I made the booking myself," said Concerto. "A double room for Octavia and Vinyl."

The string section looked around when they heard a cough behind them. "And I cancelled it," said Vinyl. She looked at Octavia. "Sorry, probably should have told you. I found us somewhere else to stay."

Concerto looked angry for a moment but immediately softened and he and his wife started trying to apologise to Miss Luckette. Octavia sighed. "Well, I guess we'll be leaving you lot here and going to whatever hotel Vinyl's booked. Bye, guys. See you tomorrow." Beauty Brass stared daggers at Vinyl.

Vinyl trotted happily along the streets, pulling their bags and equipment behind her on the trolley with her magic. Any day she could wind up Beauty was a good day. She checked out street signs as they walked along, finally coming to the one she was looking for. "Royal Procession," she announced, pointing at the sign. "This is the one we want." She turned the corner and started trotting down the street with Octavia following closely behind.

The street was full of very exclusive-looking shops and cafés, and Octavia worried about how much a hotel on this street would cost. Octavia tried to read the menus outside the restaurants and cafés as they went past, but Vinyl was going too quickly and she only managed to steal passing glances, seeing dishes far more sophisticated than anything the Hayburger or any other establishment in Ponyville had to offer. Some of the items on the menu she'd never even heard of — what in Equestria was a 'cherrychanga'?

Octavia saw the very finest produce Equestria had to offer behind the plate glass windows of the boutique shops lining the wide street. To see ciders from Ponyville alongside wines from the vineyards west of the White Tail Woods, Smokey Mountain cheese, and fruit preserves from Dodge City, made her feel proud of her home town.

After trotting for a few minutes, the shops and other business establishments thinned out, replaced by grand looking houses with large gardens. Octavia slowed down. "Vi, I… I think we should turn back. We must have passed the hotel." She came to a stop. "We're nearly at the end of the street. The only thing left is…" She looked up at the large tower looming in front of her. "… the castle."

Vinyl grinned.

Octavia was stunned. "No… you? The castle? Really?!"

Vinyl nodded, unable to wipe the grin off her face.

"But… but how did… how did…?" Octavia was rarely lost for words.

Vinyl smirked. "I guess Twilight must have really wanted me."

Vinyl had struck a hard bargain with the princess, but the castle wasn't even the best part.


❧


A friendly mare who had introduced herself as Raven showed them to their suite and left them to settle in. When Twilight had agreed to arrange a room at the castle for them, Vinyl had never imagined anything like this. The decor was rather more fancy than Vinyl would choose to decorate anything herself, but the suite was so luxurious that to decorate it any more simply would have done it an injustice.

There was a small, but opulently decorated sitting room containing two sofas and a coffee table, and a large window onto the castle gardens. An archway led through to a bedroom larger than their one at home containing a four-poster bed draped with purple velvet in the middle of the room, a red chez lounge in the corner, and two matching dressing tables by one wall. To one side of the bedroom was a doorway to a small but well-appointed bathroom.

Octavia hardly took any of that in though — what stood out for her were the large glass-panelled double doors, leading out to a balcony. She half walked, half galloped to the doorway and pushed it open, stepping out onto the white tiles. Stretching out before her seemed to be all of Equestria — she could see Saddle Lake, almost directly below Canterlot, and the Great Western River flowing to Ponyville and the Everfree Forest beyond it. Further to the right were the foothills of the Unicorn Range and behind them, in the distance she could see Smokey Mountain. Looking further right were the lush meadows fed by the rainbows dripping off Cloudsdale. The sun was beginning to set behind the Unicorn Range, casting a red haze over the land.

Octavia didn't know how long she'd been out there, staring at the view — it could have been two minutes, it could have been an hour — but she snapped out of her reverie only when she felt Vinyl nuzzling her. "I've finished unpacking," the unicorn announced. "They've brought us up some dinner."

Vinyl led Octavia back to their little sitting room where a delicious looking meal of salad, hay, fruit, and oats was laid out, along with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

The two ponies sat and ate their meal and chatted about their plans for tomorrow. Octavia would be meeting the rest of the band first thing at their hotel. They had a conference suite there which the band had hired for the morning to use as a rehearsal space. After lunch, they'd set up in the castle ball room.

Vinyl had a much simpler day planned. She'd just be hanging out in the castle most of the day. Early afternoon she'd set up and test her equipment. Then she'd head off to the Gala to watch Octavia.

Octavia interrupted Vinyl while she was explaining her plans. "What are you wearing?"

Vinyl shrugged. "Dunno. Hoodie?"

Octavia was horrified. "To the Gala?! You cannot wear your 'hoodie' to the Grand Galloping Gala! Go through my dresses — right now. I insist."

Vinyl put down her apple on the table. "Me? In a dress?"

"You wore one to Raindrops' wedding," said Octavia, trying to convince Vinyl.

"I was being ironic."

"Well, that wasn't very supportive of you. She's supposed to be our friend. I'm sure she didn't need your 'irony', even if the wedding was a farce." Octavia stood up and took Vinyl by the hoof, walking her over to the wardrobe.

Vinyl protested. "I've seen your dresses. I unpacked. Remember?"

Octavia opened the wardrobe door. "But did you really look at them?"

Vinyl looked over the dresses that Octavia had brought. "We're only here two nights. Why did you need all these?"

"Well," said Octavia, gesturing to a few elegant black dresses, "I wasn't sure what to wear for the Gala itself." She pointed to a couple of more revealing outfits. "I thought I'd want something a little less formal for your afterparty, and after that, I'd maybe slip into something a little more uncomfortable?" She took out a coat hanger from which hung a red lacy négligée that Vinyl hadn't seen her wearing in years.

Vinyl's jaw dropped.

Octavia smiled, having gotten the intended reaction. "Besides which, I wanted to make sure I had plenty of spares because I knew you wouldn't bring anything appropriate for the Gala."

Vinyl regained the power of speech. "Bring? I don't think I own anything appropriate for the Gala!" she laughed.

Octavia pulled out a long black evening dress with a slit up one side that went all the way up to her flank. "I think I'll most probably wear this."

"That's a little, umm…" Vinyl gulped. "… racy, isn't it?"

"It will be fine, Vi, but what about something for you?" Octavia pulled out a hanger. "How about this?"

Vinyl regarded the dress that Octavia had selected. It was smart and black, but was decorated with shimmering black and dark blue sequins. "It's nice," she commented.

"Nice? That's all?"

Vinyl shook her head. "Sorry, I meant it's a beautiful dress. I'll try it on now." She used her magic to slip it over her and fasten the zip. She looked at herself in the mirror which was built into the wardrobe door. She hadn't been enthusiastic about the dress, but now it was actually on her, she could see it was stunning. It fitted her body like a glove, clinging to her curves. It was short at the back, revealing her legs and just a glimpse of tail. The sequins complemented her mane colour beautifully. She spun around, trying to keep her reflection in view. "It's amazing… thanks, Tavi," she said and turned to look at her marefriend.

Octavia's eyes were wide open, mesmerized by Vinyl. She shook her head and snapped out of it. "Good, I'm glad you like it. You shall wear that then."

Vinyl pulled on her shades. "Just to complete the look, Tavi."

Octavia tutted and shook her head, but didn't say anything. She knew Vinyl wouldn't be comfortable around all those people without them.


❧


Later, Vinyl stood on the balcony, gazing at the castle gardens. It was night and Luna's full moon shone down from a dark sky decorated with myriad twinkling stars, so bright that it made the dozens of lanterns lighting the gardens and the small zoo within them seem fairly unnecessary.

It was down there, years ago, that it had all happened — the changeling pinning her down, the Octavia who was not Octavia, watching her being attacked, her burning love and her despair at not being able to defend her marefriend. Tears welled up in Vinyl's eyes.

"No!" Vinyl shouted, spinning around when she felt a movement against her side. Octavia jumped back. Vinyl instantly saw who it was and pulled Octavia into a hug. "I'm sorry, Tavi. Just feeling a bit jumpy."

Octavia hugged Vinyl back. "No, I should be the one to apologize. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that." She looked out at the gardens, which looked so serene in the moonlight. "So, this is where you were that day?"

Vinyl nodded and wiped her eyes with a hoof. A shiver ran down her spine. Octavia looked at her. "Vinyl, you're freezing cold. You've been out here for nearly an hour, you know?"

Vinyl sniffed. "An hour? I lost track of time."

"Let me get you a blanket." Octavia trotted back into the hotel suite and emerged moments later dragging a cosy-looking blanket with her teeth. She pulled it over the two of them and they sat on the balcony watching the stars, with Vinyl resting her head of Octavia's neck.

"You must think I'm such a coward," said Vinyl.

Octavia put a foreleg around Vinyl. "I don't think you're a coward. I think you're the bravest pony I know."

Vinyl straightened up and chuckled nervously. "Tavi, I'm scared of a garden."

"Having no fear doesn't make somepony brave. You're afraid, yet you came here anyway. That's what makes you brave."

Vinyl rested her head on Octavia's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Hours later, Octavia tried her best to help the sleeping unicorn into bed without waking her up too much. She'd have a long night tomorrow and needed to rest. She pulled the blanket over them both and wrapped her forelegs around her marefriend. She hadn't been there to protect Vinyl before, but she was there now.


❧


Vinyl stepped into the ballroom, dressed dazzlingly. As a concession to Octavia's sense of good taste, Vinyl had made a last minute dash to the city centre to buy an outrageously priced pair of shiny black shades to replace her usual magenta ones, and she had to admit, they did make her look more than just a tiny bit spectacular. She hoped she could claim them as an expense if she wore them during her gig.

She'd be lucky to get an opportunity to talk to Octavia at the Gala, but would at least be able to watch her once the band came on stage. In the mean time, she decided to help herself to some canapés. Levitating a cheese straw into her mouth, she spotted a familiar face at the next table and, having finished chewing, trotted over.

Vinyl tapped the magenta-coated mare on the shoulder. "It's Amethyst, right? From Ponyville?"

Amethyst Star turned around, and Vinyl could see her trying to mentally place her, to figure out why she was familiar. "Of course, DJ PON-3! I almost didn't recognize you dressed like that. What are you doing here? You're a bit far from home."

Vinyl motioned towards the stage. "My marefriend is in the band. They'll be on soon. I could ask the same question of you though — why so far from Ponyville?"

Amethyst gestured to a pair of ponies at the same table as her. "I'm here with my cousins," she answered. Cousins, of course — there was a certain resemblance. "This is Lemony Gem — she got us the tickets — and this is Diamond Mint."

"Nice to meet you." Vinyl nodded at Amethyst's cousins. She turned her attention back to Amethyst. "You have a little sister, right?" Amethyst nodded. "Did she go to Noi's party?"

"Of course! Dinky and Noi are such great friends — they're like sisters to each other. Banana's actually looking after Dinky tonight," answered Amethyst. "Say, would you like a drink?"

"No, thanks though. I really need to cut down." Vinyl looked around. "I'm surprised you didn't bring Banana along tonight."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. Why did everypony always assume she and Banana Fluff were a couple? No wonder nopony ever asked her out on dates. She considered flirting with DJ PON-3, but she'd just mentioned having a marefriend, so that didn't seem to be very appropriate.

In the distance, Amethyst spotted Rainbow Dash. She shifted uncomfortably and tried to hide behind Vinyl, but it was no use. Lemony Gem jumped out of her seat and squealed. She pointed at Rainbow Dash. "Wait, is that Rainbow Dash? Is she dressing in style?!"

Diamond Mint groaned. "Don't be  ridiculous, she never dresses in style."

Lemony Gem grabbed Amethyst by the hoof and dragged her away. "Come on, Amy, it's time for you to introduce me to an Element of Harmony!" The two mares trotted off, Amethyst wishing she'd never told her cousin about the time she'd met the famous Rainbow Dash. Diamond Mint ambled along behind them.

Vinyl looked around the room. A pink pony with a pale blue mane swept back into a bun had arrived and was getting quite a lot of attention from the trio of reporters who were covering the event. Vinyl recognized one of the reporters as Action Shot, the mare that had interviewed her the last time she'd been in Canterlot.

She hung around at the other side of the room, evesdropping on a conversation between an older looking grey stallion dressed in a ridiculous top hat and monacle, and a fairly stunning young cyan mare with magenta eyes and a light blonde mane with swirly tufts that reminded Vinyl of whipped cream. As much as Vinyl loved Octavia, she couldn't help admiring this mare. Just looking didn't hurt, did it?

Vinyl heard movement on the stage and looked up to see Parish wheeling out his harp, that grumpy old bastard. As far as Vinyl could tell, the gold plating was undamaged. Vinyl wished Lyra would come back and join Octavia's band again, like in the old days. She'd love to wave goodbye to Parish Nadermane forever.

Vinyl wondered about how Octavia must feel playing at parties like this. Normally when she performed, it was in front of a seated audience who had paid to come and listen to her. So when she played, they paid attention — they didn't stand around chatting, drinking, eating, and laughing. While Vinyl no longer relished being the centre of attention like she used to, she still appreciated that when she had a gig, people listened, danced, and enjoyed the music. Vinyl felt bad that nopony would be paying much attention to Octavia.

Soon Beauty came out, walking awkwardly with her enormous sousaphone wrapped around her, and the violinists, Concerto and Symphony, who Vinyl didn't really know very well, followed by Frederic. Frederic was a quiet pony. Vinyl had developed a grudging respect for him ever since a few years ago when he'd played one of her favourite dubstep tunes to her on his piano. He'd transformed it into a beautiful hypnotic melody and Vinyl had been enraptured by it before he abruptly stopped playing and dismissed the tune as 'hogswaddle'. Vinyl might not have agreed with his taste in music, but holy Celestia could he play!

All the heads in the room turned as Octavia ambled onto the stage, pushing her cello. She looked devastatingly beautiful, and Vinyl wondered why she'd ever been concerned about Octavia not being the centre of attention.

Parish began to play and after the first few bars of music, the string section came in, with Concerto, Symphony, and Octavia providing a lush backdrop to his harp. Vinyl had heard Octavia practising this tune at home and knew that she had a solo half way through. She sat on a seat and watched, captivated by Octavia's music, and the elegance of her movements as she played.

After a couple of pieces, most of the audience were no longer paying as much attention to the band, and had returned to mingling and networking with the other important ponies of Canterlot. Only Vinyl was really watching, spellbound. She barely even noticed the entourage of ponies heading towards her.

Vinyl heard a familiar voice above the chatter. "Please, if you could just give me five minutes." The crowd of ponies dissipated and the owner of the voice sat down beside Vinyl. "I'm sorry about that. None of these ponies even knew I existed when I lived in Canterlot, but now I have a crown and a fancy title, suddenly they're all trying to act like my dearest old friend." The Princess of Friendship sat listening to the music for a few moments. "She plays well."

Vinyl smiled. "I'll tell her you said that."

Twilight looked at Vinyl. "We should discuss your 'payment' for tonight." Twilight turned her attention back to the stage. "So she's got a wing fetish, eh? You know, not a lot of mares would do what you're doing — to set all this up for her."

Vinyl looked at the princess. "I love Tavi, and I want to make her happy. I mean, I know she says she's happy now, but she deserves more than what I can give her."

Twilight thought for a moment. "My sister-in-law might be the expert when it comes to questions of love and romance. But I think Octavia's pretty lucky to have a mare like you. And I'm sure that she knows it." Twilight stood up. "Come on, let's go somewhere a bit more private before those other ponies come back." She led Vinyl away.


❧


Having rushed back to the suite to get changed after her performance, Octavia now stood in her short black dress at the back of the club, feeling somewhat out of place. Lights whirled around and, as usual, Vinyl's loud music made it hard to think. But she had an excellent view of Vinyl's area on the small stage, and she couldn't help smiling as she watched the mare at work. She had such passion for her music and it showed in everything she did up there.

She downed the rest of her drink, and headed out to the dance floor. Vinyl's music might not be what she would usually choose to listen to for pleasure, but she couldn't deny it was great for dancing. She trotted her hooves and swayed her flanks in time with the music before spotting a familiar face in the crowd and walking over. "What are you doing here?" she shouted. At least she'd have somepony to hang around with during the party.



In the dark room, hundreds of ponies danced, drank, and ate. Although Donut Joe no longer hosted the Gala afterparty, the venue had been well-stocked with doughnuts and milkshakes as a concession to the celebration's origins, along with plenty of stronger drinks too.

Vinyl, now back in her usual hoodie, opened with a selection of downtempo tracks and acid jazz before moving on to the main part of the set which was based around garage and dubstep tunes. As it got later, she moved on to some crowd-pleasing bubblegum pop. She had been hired to play until half past one in the morning, and as that time approached, Twilight Sparkle flew up to the stage and approached Vinyl.

"One more song," she shouted into the DJ's ear, "and then you're done." Vinyl nodded and slipped out a record she'd been saving up as a surprise for the princess. It was one that Bloo had been particularly fond of as well, and the little filly had encouraged her to add it to her set.

Twilight was about to swoop back down to the dance floor before she heard the opening bars of a song that took her back to a happy night years ago, before she'd been a princess, and she couldn't help but seize the microphone from Vinyl's deck with her magic. "Love is in bloom," she sang, "a beautiful bride, a handsome groom…" She smiled at Vinyl for remembering the song she'd sung at her brother's wedding. Vinyl lifted her shades for a just moment to wink back at the princess.

At the end of the tune, Twilight kept hold of the microphone. It was the first time in hours that the room had fallen quiet and all heads turned towards the princess. "Thanks for coming, everypony! That was the last song for the night. Now go home!" Pinkie Pie sprung out of nowhere and whispered something into Twilight's ear. "There are plenty of leftover doughnuts," she continued, "please take some home with you."

Ponies started filing out the doors and Twilight trotted over to Vinyl's mixing deck to returned the microphone. "Last year I got stuck with hundreds of leftover doughnuts. Spike raided them while I was out and he was sick for a whole week. I don't want a repeat of that. Why don't you go and find your marefriend — tell her about our surprise!"

Vinyl smiled at the princess and shuffled uncomfortably in her hoodie. "Thanks Twilight, for everything." Vinyl left her equipment and trotted off in search of Octavia.

Octavia was waiting towards the back of the club, and Vinyl was surprised to find that she was chatting to Frederic. "I didn't know you were a dance music fan, Frederic!" said Vinyl.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Vinyl," the stallion replied. He yawned. "Anyway, I'd best be off — this is way past my bedtime. I'll see you both tomorrow afternoon. Goodnight, Vinyl. Goodnight, Octavia." He walked away.

"Let's go back to the castle," suggested Vinyl. Octavia was pretty tired, so nodded her head in agreement. The two ponies left the club and headed back up Royal Procession towards the castle. The guards let them through the gates and they trotted along the castle corridors to their suite. Vinyl used her magic to shut the heavy doors behind them.

Vinyl used her magic to take off her shades and set them down on the coffee table in the living room part of the suite. "Hey, Tavi. I've got a little surprise for you. Wanna see?"

Octavia had been tired, but the fresh air had woken her up a little, and the prospect of a surprise from her marefriend put any thoughts of sleep completely out of her head. She loved surprises.

Vinyl slowly unzipped her hoodie with her magic, reared up onto her hind legs, slipped the garment off and stretched out a pair of beautiful white wings.

Octavia's jaw dropped.


❧


A few minutes later, Octavia had finally calmed down. "So let me get this straight. You're saying that this is how Twilight has paid you for this evening?! By making you an alicorn?"

Vinyl nodded. "Yes, well, no. I'm not an alicorn, I'm a winged unicorn. And it's not permanent — Twilight's spell will wear off at sunrise."

Octavia shook her head in disbelief. "And you did this for me? Why in Equestria would you do that?"

Vinyl's wings ruffled slightly. "Well, I've always known you had a bit of a wing fetish. I just thought you might like to see what they're like. For one night."

Octavia blushed. "I must admit, they are pretty stunning."

Vinyl smiled and fluttered her eyelids. "Well, clock's a-ticking. Why don't we see what they can do?" She stood up and walked towards the bedroom door, swaying her hips and letting her tail swish from side to side. She looked back at Octavia, still shocked on the couch. "You coming then, Tavi?"

Octavia sprung up and ran after her.
> Chapter 4 — It Takes Me All the Way [NSFW]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl stood in the bedroom, her wings spread.

Octavia took in the sorry state of Vinyl's wings. "Holy Celestia, Vi! You've barely had these wings five minutes and they look a complete state!" The feathers looked dishevelled and matted.

Vinyl craned her neck to look at her new wings. "Crap! They weren't like that when Twilight gave them to me. Does it matter? I wasn't planning on flying — I have absolutely no idea how, and Twilight warned me it would take much more than a night to learn."

Octavia took a wing in her hoof and examined it briefly before releasing it. "Of course it matters. Would you want to make love to me if my mane was tangled, and I was all sweaty and covered in dirt…?" She paused before completing her question. "Actually, Vi, don't answer that."

Vinyl smirked. "Heh. I dunno, they've just been under my hoodie all evening. It gets pretty hot and sweaty up on that stage."

"You should let me preen you," Octavia suggested, matter-of-factly.

Vinyl laughed briefly, but Octavia's face was completely serious. "What do you mean? You know how to do that?"

Octavia walked over to the bed and sat upright on it, patting the area beside her. "I haven't always been your marefriend, Vinyl. I have been with other mares."

Vinyl knew that abstractly of course, but she generally preferred not to think about it. She hadn't met any of Octavia's exes — except Beauty, of course — and preferred them to be a vague, ill-defined blur in her mind. In retrospect it made sense that Octavia would have been with pegasus ponies in the past.

She trotted obediently over to Octavia's side and sat on the soft silk sheets, using the upright position as well. Octavia shuffled behind her. "Lift your left wing," she instructed. Vinyl compliantly lifted her wing, fanning out her feathers, and Octavia reached for the wing.

It had been a long while since Octavia had done this. She'd dated a very excitable, enthusiastic, and willing pegasus mare called High Spirits for a few weeks back in music school — the younger sister of one of her class mates — and she'd certainly enjoyed Octavia's attention. Even though that was close to a decade ago, as soon as her hoof touched Vinyl's wings, all the techniques came flooding back. "There's not an awful lot you need to know anyway — you've just got to be gentle and patient."

Octavia lowered her mouth to the base of Vinyl's wing, taking a twisted feather in her teeth and delicately gave it a little wiggle. When she released it, it snapped back into place.

Vinyl felt Octavia moving her feathers — they felt like part of her body, but something outside her at the same time. She wasn't sure if that was just because they were magic, not her natural wings, or if this was how feather movements felt to all pegasus ponies.

There was one feather that looked beyond repair — the shaft in the middle was bent and had snapped. "This one needs to go," warned Octavia, "it might hurt a little — just like a mane hair being pulled out."

Vinyl winced and drew breath when she pulled it. "Ow!" she said, frowning.

"Stop being such a cry-baby," giggled Octavia, before remembering Vinyl's genuine tears the previous night, and realizing she was being insensitive. She leaned in and kissed the spot the feather had come out from. Vinyl shivered at the feeling of Octavia's lips on her wing.

Octavia went back to preening the wing, her hooves delicately moving over row after row of feathers, straightening out the ones that looked crooked, and plucking a few more that seemed irreparable. Octavia's hooves working up and down her wings was a new and exhilarating experience for Vinyl, and she felt a tingling sensation building up in them.

She'd heard before that pegasus wings were supposed to be sensitive, but hadn't been able to imagine the feeling. It didn't feel obviously sexual like when Octavia would suck or hoof her pussy — it was more of a gentle, sensual experience, like when Octavia gave her nipples or flanks some attention.

Octavia found some ruffled feathers and leaned in to lick them straight. Vinyl shuddered and a soft whinny escaped her lips. Octavia smiled. "You like this, eh? I'm going to give you a wing massage when we're done." Vinyl sucked in her breath and bit her bottom lip.

Octavia gave the wing a final stroke from base to tip. "Other wing now," she announced. Vinyl carefully folded her left wing and extended her right one, and Octavia ran her hooves along its length, prompting another whinny from the winged unicorn.

She set to work, finding the bent feathers and gently tweaking them into place. Octavia adjusted a couple more feathers with her mouth and then licked them straight, using her tongue probably a little more than necessary, knowing how much pegasus ponies loved this sort of attention. She remembered that the last time she'd preened High Spirits, she'd gotten the mare so worked up that they'd made passionate love as soon as she was finished — so passionate that she had needed another preening straight afterwards. These wings might have only been temporary, but when she and Vinyl finally made love, she wanted them to look fucking majestic.

"Are you d-done now?" Vinyl asked, breathing heavily.

"Near—" Octavia stopped half-way through her answer. "I thought I said to put your left wing down."

Vinyl twisted her head to see her wing which was outstretched gracefully. "I— what the? It won't go down," she answered.

Octavia could see the strong muscles on Vinyl's barrel flexing, trying to fold her wing back in. She laughed. "Honestly Vinyl, have you no self-control? Already standing to attention!"

Vinyl blushed when she realised that she must be suffering from that rather embarrassing condition that pegasus ponies sometimes get. "Sorry," she smiled sheepishly.

Octavia leaned over to whisper into her ear. "Don't be. It's cute." She leaned back a little to take in the sight of both of Vinyl's elegant wings outstretched like a magnificent phoenix. Octavia ran her hooves along Vinyl's right wing. "Anyway, in answer to your earlier question, yes, I've finished. Let's get on with that massage — it should fix your little… problem."

Octavia put her hooves at the base of Vinyl's wings and started rubbing her supracoracoideus muscle with circular motions. "Vinyl, this muscle feels so knotted up."

"Mmmm. Well, k-keep doing what you're doing, T-Tavi. It's n-nice," she stammered before letting out a squeal as Octavia pressed harder, getting her hooves dug in. Vinyl's wings tingled and fluttered involuntarily when Octavia hit a very tense spot. She could feel herself getting wet between the legs.

Octavia felt a swish against her belly and looked down to see Vinyl's blue tail moving from side to side. She shuffled in a little closer, so that the dock of Vinyl's tail was almost up against her. The long hairs swept over her pussy and inner thighs as Vinyl continued to sway her tail.

Octavia used both hooves to rub along the length of each wing, from base to tip. She leaned in and nibbled Vinyl's ear, feeling the mare's tail swishing faster. Vinyl's breathing was heavy and Octavia could smell her sex even from this distance.

Vinyl's pussy was driving her crazy. Without her thinking about it, her front hoof inched towards it, but she pulled back, realizing that hoofing herself off in front of Octavia might be considered a bit rude. But as if she'd read her mind, Octavia purred into her ear, "go on, I know you want to. I don't mind."

That was all the encouragement Vinyl needed. Her hoof flew straight to her pussy, seeking the wetness between its lips. Once her hoof was slick with her own juices, she started rubbing her swollen clit.

Octavia moved up to Vinyl's shoulders, gripping them firmly in her hooves and putting pressure on them to loosen them up. She worked her hooves downwards to the wing joints, prompting an involuntary flutter from Vinyl, and then Vinyl's back. Vinyl moaned when Octavia reached the sides of her flanks.

"Mmmhmmm... th-there," purred Vinyl, and Octavia kept rubbing Vinyl's flanks, concentrating on the area near Vinyl's plot and flicking tail. Vinyl's clit felt warm and tingly and she knew she was close to climax.

"Front legs up, please," ordered Octavia, "I'm going to massage your chest."

Vinyl groaned, "just a moment."

Octavia lifted Vinyl's front legs into the air, pulling them away from her crotch. "No, now." She was far too strong for Vinyl to resist. Vinyl groaned in frustration — she had been so close and her clit was aching for release.

Octavia shuffled forwards so that her belly and chest were pressed against Vinyl's back and wing joints, and reached around Vinyl with her front legs to put her hooves on her chest, just below her neck. She rubbed her hooves up and down, ruffling the fur. It could barely be called a massage now, but from Vinyl's laboured breaths, Octavia knew the sensation must be driving her wild.

Her hooves worked their way down the soft white fur on Vinyl's belly, pausing on the way to rub Vinyl's hard nipples, and eliciting moans of bliss, before coming to rest on Vinyl's inner thighs. Octavia could feel the warmth radiating from Vinyl's pussy even from this distance, and could smell the familiar scent of her arousal.

After pausing just a moment, Octavia finally said the words that Vinyl had been waiting for. "OK, you can hoof yourself off now, my little deviant."

Vinyl was almost too eager to start to even notice Octavia's playful insult. Almost. But the word got her thinking — she hoofed herself off several times a month — it was natural: sometimes she was horny and Octavia wasn't around, or was busy, or tired. But she was always discreet about it, going to the bathroom or somewhere else private to indulge in the activity. She'd never hoofed herself off in front of Octavia before — it felt naughty; it felt… well… deviant.

Her hoof quickly returned to her clit, which had been desperate for attention. She felt Octavia's hooves envelope hers, encouraging her, guiding her hoof, and helping her stroke. Together the two ponies rubbed Vinyl's pussy, and it was mere moments before her climax arrived.

Vinyl cried out Octavia's name and shuddered as a wave of pleasure tore through her body, any remaining tension melting away. Octavia held her mare tight, only loosening her grip slightly to allow Vinyl's wings to fold away, before nuzzling happily against the back of Vinyl's neck.

After a few moments in Octavia's embrace, Vinyl flopped down onto the bed and Octavia lay beside her. Vinyl propped herself up with a hoof, still catching her breath. She planted a kiss on Octavia's nose. "Thanks, Tavi, I needed that."

Octavia pushed Vinyl back down onto the bed, so that Vinyl fell onto her back, her wings spread out beneath her. Octavia climbed onto her, planting her front hooves on Vinyl's wings, and pinning her down with her earth pony strength. "You think I'm done with my perverted little alicorn princess already?" she purred. Rubbing the length of her body along Vinyl's, she pressed her lips against the winged unicorn's muzzle and kissed her hungrily, her tongue slipping inside Vinyl's mouth.

Vinyl moaned into Octavia's mouth when she felt Octavia's pussy brush against her clit. She was still sensitive from her hoofing and the contact almost drove her to an immediate second climax. Octavia began to grind against her, their pussies and teats in intimate contact with each other. Vinyl wrapped her front legs around Octavia's neck and kissed her with a burning passion, reflecting the intense pleasure that Octavia was giving her.

Octavia broke off the kiss and nuzzled into the side of Vinyl's head, nibbling a little on her ear. She thrust her hips harder and faster and Vinyl couldn't help but let go, bucking her hips upwards, crying out and shuddering as another blissful wave radiated out from her pussy.

"Hey, that's not fair," Octavia giggled into her marefriend's ear, without slowing down for a moment, "it was supposed to be my turn."

Vinyl gritted her teeth against the aftershocks of her orgasm that each onslaught of Octavia's pussy against her brought. Her poor clit really needed a rest, but making her marefriend cum was a higher priority. She let her front hooves slip down lower, to rest on Octavia's flanks, spurring her on, harder and faster, and started to buck her hips up against Octavia, pounding their pussies together, causing her weary clit unbearable pleasure.

Octavia kissed her way back to Vinyl's mouth, and the two ponies shared an impassioned kiss. Vinyl let her hoof trace the spirals of Octavia's treble clef cutie mark provoking a shiver from Octavia.

Octavia's pussy was beginning to tingle and burn with heat. She broke away from their kiss to pant, "n-nearly there." Vinyl smirked and her horn started to glow. Octavia felt the familiar feeling of Vinyl's magic inside her.

The first time Vinyl had tried this trick on her, years ago, when they'd first got together, it had been pretty good, but over the years since then she'd slowly tweaked the spell so that it was perfectly in tune with Octavia's pleasure spots — almost as if Vinyl were tapping directly into the pleasure receptors in her brain — and it was phenomenal. As far as Octavia was concerned, unicorn sex beat pegasus sex every time.

Octavia felt weak at the knees as the building pressure in her loins seemed to melt away the strength in her legs. She pushed the top of her head against the pillow next to Vinyl's head, in an effort to prevent herself from collapsing. With each thrust, she felt like she might explode. 

Vinyl used her hooves to pull on Octavia's hips, slamming them down harder and harder against her own, at the same time thrusting up against her, their clits hitting directly. Octavia finally came, her chest heaving, her cries muffled by the pillow. The heat inside her belly engulfed her body and she collapsed into a panting heap on top of her marefriend.

She rolled off a few moments later, and lay beside Vinyl with her eyes closed, and drew deep breaths. She slipped a foreleg under Vinyl's neck and snuggled against her. Vinyl turned to face her and they kissed, slowly and tenderly, pausing now and again so that they could each catch their breath.

"Thanks," whispered Vinyl once she felt finally able to speak again, "that was nice."

Octavia smirked at her. "Oh, I'm not done yet."

She pushed Vinyl's shoulder and the winged unicorn fell onto her back, this time managing to tuck her wings neatly underneath herself before her marefriend could pin her down again. 

Octavia climbed on and gave her mare another kiss before edging further down the bed. Vinyl closed her eyes, parted her hind legs, and felt Octavia's warm breath on her chest, belly, and teats before she reached her destination.

Octavia didn't bother with any teasing — she knew Vinyl had already cum for her twice that night, so they were beyond that now. She dove straight in, using her wide tongue to lap at Vinyl's pussy which was already slick with not just Vinyl's own juices, but also hers. Although she honestly couldn't tell the difference taste-wise, the knowledge that she was licking her own cum from her marefriend's pussy was a major turn on for her, and she reached down between her back legs and started rubbing her own pussy while she cleaned up Vinyl orally. If Vinyl could hoof herself off in bed, then so could she!

Vinyl purred in appreciation. She knew that Octavia would always look after her. She felt her marefriend licking up and down her lower lips, and moaned once Octavia's long, thick tongue slid inside her, filling her up. Vinyl reached a hoof down to rub her sensitive teats with her front hooves.

Absentmindedly, Vinyl's other front hoof reached for her horn. She opened her eyes to watch while she ran her hoof along its underside and it glowed faintly in automatic response. She would never admit it, even to Octavia, because it seemed a little strange and narcissistic, but she did enjoy the sight of her own horn being pleasured. She teased its tip by circling it with the corner of her hoof before gently stroking the shaft up and down, her horn glowing. Though enjoyable, it was nothing compared to when Octavia took it into her mouth, or indeed compared to what Octavia was doing with her tongue now.

Octavia started licking the sensitive area between Vinyl's foalhole and her plot, making Vinyl squirm. Vinyl let go of her horn and teats, gripping the bed sheets to steady herself and closing her eyes to concentrate on the sensations Octavia's tongue was providing.

Octavia returned to Vinyl's pussy and sucked gently on the clit. Vinyl moaned in response, and gently stroked Octavia's mane. Octavia's hoof moved up and down between her own legs, and juices were beginning to trickle down her inner thighs. She gave her own clit a gentle flick while she sucked on Vinyl's.

Vinyl's breathing grew heavier — she was almost there. Octavia wanted to prolong this though. She let her tongue trail down the length of Vinyl's pussy and kept going. Vinyl's eyes shot open when she felt Octavia lick her plot hole. "Holy b-b—" she stammered, taking in the new sensation. "…uck," she added, her voice jumping an octave as Octavia's tongue pushed its way inside her tight rear opening.

Octavia hadn't done this in years, and was fired up by the taboo nature of the activity and the musky taste. Vinyl's plot was very tight though, and she found she couldn't move her tongue much inside, so she returned to licking the outside, giving Vinyl little circular licks around her anal ring.

Vinyl moaned with pleasure and grasped tighter at the bed sheets. This. This was something they needed to add to their love-making on a regular basis. She made a mental note to return the favour soon.

Octavia's pussy began to tingle and she could feel the beginnings of her orgasm on the horizon. She raised her head to Vinyl's pussy again and took her clit into her mouth. She sucked on it while flicking the tip with her tongue. At the same time, she rubbed her own pussy faster and harder, edging herself towards her climax.

"K-keep going, T-Tavi," spluttered Vinyl between breaths, and Octavia tried her best to, though the feeling in her own loins was beginning to take precedence. The ticklish warmth in her pussy felt close to bursting point.

With a gasp, muffled by Vinyl's crotch in her face, Octavia came, soaking her own hoof with her marecum. The warm tingles rippled blissfully over her body from her muzzle to her hooves. Her knees felt wobbly, but she held herself up so that she could keep pleasuring her marefriend, determined to give her little unicorn the reward she deserved.

It was only seconds later when Vinyl, too, shuddered and cried out in ecstasy. Octavia eagerly lapped up the juices leaking from her pussy, savouring their exquisite taste, until Vinyl grabbed one of her hoofs and dragged her back up the bed to snuggle.

The two ponies lay in bed, panting and trying to catch their breath, Octavia with her front legs wrapped around Vinyl in embrace. Vinyl smiled and kissed her marefriend on the nose.
> Epilogue — I Want You to Stay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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."