Vinyl Scratch trotted through the local Stall-Mart, pushing a cart full of things she hoped would make for a good romantic evening. It had been a few days since she and Octavia had agreed to give themselves to each other, and Vinyl wanted to make doubly sure that it was the best evening her girlfriend could possibly have.
"Let's see..." Vinyl thought, glancing into her shopping cart. "Candles, packaged salad, frozen pizza I'll bake somehow, vase for the flowers I'll get later...
As Vinyl passed the shelves of various drinks, something glinting under the store lights caught her eye: red wine. The unicorn bit her hoof in thought. It would be the perfect romantic touch on dinner... but it had been over a year since Vinyl had stopped drinking. Could she risk it for her beloved?
In the end, she decided against it; she was sure Octavia would understand. Besides, who said that a six pack of Colta-Cola couldn't be romantic? This shopping trip was going to tax her weekly spending budget (which, as a college student, was rather low,) but it would all be worth it for Octavia.
"At least I don't have to buy condoms!" she mused internally.
Back at her dorm, Vinyl sat in thought. She thought she had gotten everything she'd need at the store, but part of her still felt unprepared. Like there was something more she could do.
"I'm doing dinner, I'm doing flowers, I'm doing her..." Vinyl said, pacing about her room. "What more could there... I know! Maybe a little gift! Oh, but what could it be?"
As her idle trotting continued, she spotted something that lit a spark in her mind: her mixing board. That was it! She'd write a song! A special song for her special somepony! She quickly dragged the equipment out from the corner it sat in and got to work.
Hours later, the sun set, but the amateur DJ still labored.
Vinyl tapped buttons, turned dials, and gently nodded her head to the beat as she tinkered with her composition. It was slow, yet rhythmic, with a firm bassline and gliding, synthetic instrumentals. She'd never tried making a song like this before, but she knew her lover would appreciate it. It was a gentle blend of both their styles: Vinyl's energetic techno-wizardry and Octavia's classical dignity composed into a lo-fi sensual harmony.
A little more tinkering produced what Vinyl deemed the perfect song, one she hoped Octavia would love as much as Vinyl loved her. After all, that was why she'd written it, to show her love. She made every possible backup of the song she could, in hopes she wouldn't lose it.
Octavia made her way into the grand library housed on campus that afternoon. Thousands of volumes lined countless shelves inside the noble halls. Students milled about here and there, looking for books or studying together. Octavia had been in the library many times herself to study, but still didn't know where everything was. The place was nearly as large as the Canterlot Library, after all, and it was a public library; this one was only for the University's use.
Octavia trotted up to an old card catalog, hoofing through its files until she found roughly the section she was looking for. With a nervous look around, she asked the librarian what section the 600s were in, then quietly trotted off in that direction. Upon arriving, she was rather relieved to find that she was the only pony there, save for a library assistant up on a ladder, shelving books. The two largely ignored each other as Octavia began scanning the book spines, searching for a particular subject. After a minute or two of fruitless searching, the grey mare heard a voice address her from atop the ladder.
"Do you need any help, miss?"
Octavia turned to look up at the assistant, a fellow earth pony mare; she wore a green knitted sweater, had a tannish coat and bright orange mane. Her Cutie Mark was that of an open book.
Octavia awkwardly cleared her throat and began to speak. "I... I'm looking for, um..."
The other mare gracefully slid down the ladder a ways. "I'm sorry, dear, I couldn't quite hear you."
Octavia's ears went back as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She stood on her hooftips to try and speak above a whisper.
"I'm looking for books on... erm… female anatomy."
"Those would be right up here." the assistant said with a friendly nod. She turned and took a couple of steps up the ladder before pinpointing a book with her hoof and removing it with her muzzle. Octavia gingerly took the volume with a hoof once she had descended to the floor.
"That's a good one that covers most of what you need to know." The ginger-maned mare said. "I'm assuming you've got Dr. Hayfield's test coming up?"
Octavia chuckled and blushed. She figured she might as well tell her.
"Well.... actually, you see.... I'm, uh... I may be losing my virginity later this week." Her face was beet-red. The assistant merely winked and gave a small smile.
"Congratulations, then!" she said in her chipper way. "I hope you and the lucky colt have plenty of fun!"
The cellist tapped her hoof on the tiled floor. "Well, um... hehe... I'm sure she and I will..."
The other mare's eyes widened, and she scratched her hoof awkwardly. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to..."
"You're fine!" said Octavia, starting to warm up a bit now. "Just... don't let word get around, okay? I haven't exactly... erm… gone public yet."
The assistant chuckled. "No no, you don't get it." She put a gentle hoof on Octavia's shoulder and whispered.
"Neither have I."
"...What?"
"I'm gay, too!"
Octavia was a little taken aback. Since she'd come to college, she'd never met another lesbian mare (that she knew of), aside from Vinyl.
"Really? Huh."
The other mare extended a forehoof. "The name's Page Turner. Pleasure to meet you...?"
"Octavia." She said, slipping the book into her saddlebag.
The two mares chatted for a bit, and Octavia explained how she was nervous (and no small amount of confused) about her impending night with her girlfriend. Page simply nodded and scratched her chin.
"I understand it can be a little intimidating at first." She said thoughtfully. "Like you, I barely knew how to please myself before I dated somepony. For that matter, neither did my partner. But we sort of let instinct take over, and eventually, we found a few different ways for both of us to end up happy."
Octavia shrunk back within herself. "I just... I don't know, Page. I know how my parts work in principal, but I've never... a-and I don't know how I could make her..."
"That book will teach you a few things, Octavia." Page replied. "But if you want, my mare and I can give you some advice later, after my shift is over. We've been together for almost four years now, and like I said, we've had time to practice."
Octavia returned a little smile, nervous, yet hopeful. Her thoughts swelled with how she might impress Vinyl.
"I would appreciate that, Page. Thank you."
Sometime later, as evening fell, Octavia met with Page Turner in the back of the library, in a study nook. With her was a short, fuzzy Pegasus mare whose fur was a sweet yellowish color; her mane and tail were off-white and very curly, and she possessed a white streak on her nose as well as white "socks" on her hooves and some slight dappling. Her Cutie Mark was a wheel of cheese, missing a slice.
"Octavia," Page began as she waved the mare over. "This is my sweetheart, Cream Cheese."
The Pegasus simply blushed and waved as her girlfriend hugged her close.
"How do you do?" Octavia smiled as she sat down across from them with her saddlebags.
"That's what we're here to teach you!" Page snickered at her own innuendo. Cream rolled her eyes and nudged her with an elbow.
"C'mon dear, that's a stretch." she said quietly.
"So, um..." Octavia began, wrapping a foreleg around herself for security. "As I'm sure Page has already told you..."
"You've got a hot date coming up." Cream said with a grin. She seemed to be feeling less awkward now, and Octavia tried to mimic her.
"Heh... I guess so." she replied. "This mare and I, we've been dating for almost a year, and we've never done anything overtly sexual... I don't really know how to... you know..."
The two mares sitting across from her nodded in unison. Page leaned her head on Cream's shoulder and Cream threw a wing around her.
"Right, well... we know quite a bit about making that work." Cream Cheese giggled to herself as her girlfriend pressed against her.
"Yes we do." Page replied with blushed cheeks and a lilting voice.
"But it didn't come to us all at once." continued Cream Cheese. "It took a good deal of practice and getting to know each other's likes and dislikes. That just comes with being in a long-term partnership."
"I'm sure." Octavia said. "And I definitely look forward to... getting to know my mare that way." She glanced at her hooves with a blush. Page couldn't help but muse internally how adorable Octavia's unsureness was; she'd been in her hooves once upon a time.
Octavia continued. "But I guess I need some advice on how to actually do the deed, a-and make the night memorable. Even if it won't be perfect."
"Well dear, it's both of your first times." said Page, resting her forehooves on the table. "It'll be memorable whether or not it's perfect because you two really love each other." Octavia blushed.
"But, I guess it's time we got down to business." Cream Cheese chuckled, glancing between her girlfriend and her pupil. "You need to actually know how to have sex with a mare, correct?"
Octavia succinctly nodded, reaching into her saddlebags and retrieving a notepad and pencil.
"Well..." Cream Cheese began, still holding Page close beside her. "I cannot understate the value of foreplay in any sexual encounter. Don't just dive right in. Let the tension build and the payoff will be all the sweeter..."
By the time the two mares had gone to bed on opposite sides of the dorm building, Vinyl had concocted what she believed was the pinnacle of sensual synth, and Octavia had several sheets full of arcane Sapphic knowledge. The date of their anniversary was drawing ever closer, and slowly their confidence began to build over it. They would each spend spare moments picturing, anticipating how the fateful evening might unfold, until, after what felt like an unbearable wait, the big day had arrived.