How long will I love you?
As long as stars are above you
And longer, if I can.
Twilight closed her eyes, breathing in and then out, her thoughts focused on the steady beat of her heart. She was sunk in darkness, but she still felt completely calm, completely at peace, like if a new life was starting.
Which it was.
She felt something brush against her, and her thoughts drifted towards that sensation, towards the hoof roaming her sides in a curious, but most of all, loving gesture. There was no rush, nothing to keep them apart, and everything to keep them together. She imagined the hoof to be paintbrush, tracing red lines on her coat .
She'd read somewhere — she didn't quite remember where or when — that ponies from Eastern Equui believed that everypony was connected to their soulmate by an invisible red string that could never be severed. She wondered how tangled they both were in their string of fate, and she couldn't help but feel like she wanted to get tangled in it even more.
The hoof roaming her body traveled upwards, brushing against her neck and pulling her mane away, leaving her neck uncovered. She felt a chill at the air brushing against her neck, but it was quickly dealt with when she felt a pair of lips press themselves against her sensitive coat.
She exhaled.
She turned around, perhaps a bit too quickly, and she searched for the eyes of her lover in the darkness of the room. She couldn't see them, at first, but it didn't bother her for long since she was quickly distracted by the lips brushing against hers.
Now it was her turn to explore, and she lifted her hoof, stroking the body of the unicorn — a way to bring her close. When the kiss ended, and when both let out a breath of air, she gently nuzzled Rarity, leaving a kiss on her lips, on her chin and then softly pressing against her so as to leave a kiss on the crook of her neck.
She wasn't trying to start anything, nor was it meant to be a sensual gesture. It was more like she felt the need to show her devotion through simple quiet gestures. Rarity said nothing at first, as if waiting to see what waiting would lead to, but when the kisses had reached her neck, she relaxed and let out a soft hum.
Eventually, Twilight made it so their lips met again, and she let out a soft laugh, almost nervous, because it still felt so new, so… so right, was the only word she could find to describe.
Three words hung from the tip of her tongue, waiting to be confessed, but she held back. Maybe it was too soon. Too soon to tell Rarity how deeply her attraction ran, too soon to whisper the three words that would be the same as giving Rarity the most precious thing she had.
“Twilight?”
Twilight didn’t reply immediately. She was quiet, processing everything to be processed. In the darkness of the room, where she couldn’t see her partner, it was easy to imagine Rarity.
But hearing her voice, hearing it in such an intimate place, hearing it whisper her name in such a soft, loving fashion — that sent shivers down Twilight’s spine as it sunk in that it was Rarity indeed lying there besides her, and it was Rarity’s hoof now stroking her cheeks.
“Yes?”
Silence followed afterwards, and Rarity’s hoof stopped its idle stroking. Just as Twilight was about to prompt Rarity again, the unicorn finally spoke in a measured tone:
“I love you.”
It seemed as if they were both aware that was the first time either of them had said those three words. Twilight always thought they would come from her first, because she’d fallen hard and Rarity had, for some wonderfully odd reason, merely indulged Twilight’s desires.
And so, when they came from Rarity first, when Rarity gave herself entirely to somepony who’d yet to offer the same, Twilight realized she had not been prepared. She blinked once, twice, at the darkness besides her, completely disarmed by the suddenness and honesty of the statement, and she asked a question:
“Why?”
Rarity giggled. “Why?” she repeated, and Twilight could almost see her raising an eyebrow. “Only you would ask such a question now of all times.”
In retrospect, Twilight realized it seemed like a very egocentric thing to ask Rarity to spell out why she loved Twilight, but that could have not been further away from the truth. Twilight needed to understand everything, comprehend every detail and factor of their relationship so she could continue doing whatever it was that Rarity loved about her.
“I don’t know why I love you,” Rarity replied, her childish giggling proving to make the statement even more confusing that it already was. “I just do.”
Twilight blinked again.
She didn’t know? How could she not know? Twilight could make an endless list of things that made her love Rarity, and yet she still hadn’t confessed, but Rarity had confessed and yet she had no idea of why she’d done it.
“Oh,” Twilight replied, and she could not hide her disappointment. “I see.”
“Twilight,” Rarity said, cuddling closer and looking for Twilight’s hoof under the covers. “I only said that because, if I were to list all the reasons I’m so utterly taken by you, we’d be here until the day-after-tomorrow.” She leaned in to kiss Twilight, before adding, “And we both have to wake up frightfully early tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Twilight replied unceremoniously, her cheeks heated up and her heart fluttering. She leaned in again to kiss Rarity, before finally snuggling up to her, closing her eyes and yawning.
“Goodnight, darling,” Rarity said, wrapping a lazy hoof around Twilight and tracing circles on her back.
Twilight was about to reply in kind, but something nagged at her. Three words she wanted to say, but didn’t feel confident enough to say them yet. Except, it was only right to reciprocate Rarity’s gesture, wasn’t it?
“Uhm, Rarity?”
“Mmm?”
Twilight took a deep breath. “I… Er…” She felt her cheeks heating up, and she pushed herself closer to Rarity, wondering if she’d been spending too much time with Fluttershy lately. “I love you too,” she finally blurted out, and her blush did not wane when Rarity giggled again.
“Oh, darling, really? Heavens, I must have missed the signs between all those times we stare at each other like lovesick fools! How dense of me!”
Now, finally, Twilight giggled. “Oh, ha ha ha…” She leaned back and found Rarity’s lips, silencing the unicorn’s mirth with a kiss. “Well, now you know, smarty-pants.”
Rarity merely sighed contently in reply, snuggling up to Twilight and whispering again, “Goodnight, Twilight.”
Twilight closed her eyes, letting sleep take over. “Goodnight, Rarity.”
How long will I want you?
As long as you want me too
And longer by far.