//------------------------------//
// "I don't care."  
// Story: Shattered 
// by Zeck 
//------------------------------//

	Sea Swirl sat on the plush couch in the fancy living room, doing her best not to bounce up and down on the cushions. It wasn’t that they were extra springy or anything, but she needed to do something. If she sat still, her nerves would eat her alive. The tension in the room was choking her, and not in a fun way. 
Symphony was sitting next to her, and she was frightfully close. That was bad enough, because Sea Swirl could see her neck muscles strain with each breath and she could smell the Earth pony’s shampoo. Both of those things were enough to make the Unicorn squirm a little, but there was more going on right now.
Symphony looked like a cornered animal. Her back was so stiff that Sea Swirl was getting sore just looking at her, and her eyes refused to look anywhere but straight ahead. Even then, the two spheres of beauty didn’t really seem to be focused on anything as they gazed ahead. 
Symphony had been this way since the moment she had set hoof inside Mr. and Mrs. Orchestral’s mansion. The Earth pony had followed her through the front door like a puppy, and had not said a single word to Mr. Orchestral the entire time. When he had offered to bring drinks, Sea Swirl had asked for a glass of cider and then turned to Symphony, but the mare had remained completely silent.
Not that it seemed to bother their host too much. He had simply blinked once and walked into the kitchen to gather the beverages. 
“Symphony,” Sea Swirl whispered. She dared not lean over because she was afraid she’d touch the pony. “Are you okay?”
Symphony made some sort of noise with her throat, but Sea Swirl had no idea what it was and Symphony made no effort to clarify. 
“So, Miss Sea Swirl,” came Mr. Orchestral’s voice from the kitchen. 
“Yes?” the Unicorn called back, noting that Symphony had jumped so hard at the stallion’s voice that she had almost fallen off of the couch. 
“My wife will be down in a moment,” the stallion said as he walked back into the living room. Three glasses floated in the air behind him, along with a tall bottle of what looked like cider. “In the mean time, how about you tell me about your new…help.”
Sea Swirl’s glass was placed nicely on the redwood coffee table and filled to the brim, followed by Mr. Orchestral’s a second later. Symphony’s glass was just sort of dropped in front of her, and it remained unfilled. Sea Swirl thought that was kind of odd, so she waited until her host had finished with the bottle before using her magic to levitate the bottle over to Symphony’s glass. She filled it halfway, and then scooted the glass a little more toward Symphony, but the mare made no motion to pick it up. 
“Er,” Sea Swirl said as she set the bottle down and glanced at Symphony. “Symphony? You want to tell him about yourself?”
“He asked you,” the yellow mare replied, her voice flatter than Sea Swirl had ever heard it. 
“Indeed I did,” Mr. Orchestral added. 
“Well…” Sea Swirl rubbed the back of her neck and bounced once on the cushions despite her best efforts not to. “Her name’s Symphony, like I said.”
“Where did you meet her?”
“I—” Sea Swirl stopped short. She had only recently found out the truth about what had happened at the cliff. Revealing that they had met because the Earth pony had tried to kill herself probably wasn’t something Symphony wanted her to tell complete strangers. Plus, Symphony didn’t know that Sea Swirl had found out, and telling her this way probably wasn’t the best idea either. “We met down at the lake actually.”
“The lake?” the stallion asked, a note of surprise in his voice. “How odd.”
“Not really,” Sea Swirl said. “I’m down there a lot. It’s one of my favorite diving spots. I bumped into Symphony down there, and she offered to help pull my cart back up the mountain.”
“I see.” Mr. Orchestral took a sip from his glass, but his green eyes fixated on Symphony. “I suppose an Earth pony would be better suited for that sort of task.”
Sea Swirl thought she saw one of Symphony’s ears twitch out of the corner of her eye. “Er…yeah. It’s a long walk up, and she’s stronger than me by far.”
“Could you not use your magic?” Mr. Orchestral asked as he levitated the cider bottle over to his glass and filled it again. “Surely a Unicorn as talented as you could simply pull the cart that way.”
Sea Swirl bit her lip a little. “Well, I use up a lot of my magic when I’m diving, so I’m kind of worn out by the time I have to come back to Canterlot.”
“Does Symphony help you dive too?”
“No, she—” Sea Swirl stopped again. She looked over at the yellow mare sitting beside her, looking for any sign of disapproval, but saw none. Still, it didn’t feel right saying that she couldn’t swim. “She can’t use the magic I use to go down that deep. She just helps pull the cart, sorts, and helps with deliveries. That sort of thing.”
This time Sea Swirl was positive she saw Symphony’s ear twitch. Had she said something wrong? 
“A work horse through and through then,” Mr. Orchestral said. He took a long sip from his glass, draining it, before setting it down on the coffee table again. “At least you have found yourself some help.”
Sea Swirl couldn’t tell whom that comment was directed to.  She was about to ask what Mr. Orchestral meant, but then she heard the sound of hooves coming down the stairs behind her. 
“Quartette, my dear!” Mr. Orchestral said as a smile spread across his brown face. “You look positively breathtaking! Truly, you will be the envy of all at the coming New Year party!”
“Basso, you charmer!” Mrs. Orchestral said with a light laugh. “I simply wanted to try on the whole outfit, now that Miss Sea Swirl is here with the final pieces.” 
Sea Swirl turned her head to look at the mare and she had to admit that her husband had a point. 
Mrs. Orchestral wore a white dress that complimented her dark yellow coat. It flared out toward the back, which was all the rage in Canterlot at the moment, and tiny hints of blue danced around the edge of her gown, making it look like she was walking on sparkling water or ice. 
Her sunset orange mane, which was usually loose and wavy, was done up in a fancy style that kept it neatly pinned to her head, held in place by a gemmed headpiece that Sea Swirl was certain she had sold her a month or two ago. 
“You look great, Mrs. Orchestral,” Sea Swirl said with a smile. Praising clients was always important, but a lot of the time it was easy because Sea Swirl meant it. While most of the ponies in the city were stuck up to some point, they all knew how to dress to impress. “And the necklace you ordered will go perfect with—“
“Oh…!” Mrs. Orchestral stopped as her blue-green eyes fell on Symphony. “Basso, you didn’t tell me we had company!” 
“My apologies, Mrs. Orchestral,” Sea Swirl said, although she found the look on the mare’s face rather odd. “This is—”
“Symphony!” Mrs. Orchestral said as she walked across the floor and stopped in front of the Earth pony. “Darling, whatever are you doing with Miss Sea Swirl?”
Sea Swirl’s brain stopped for a second. Mrs. Orchestral knew Symphony?
“She works for her, Quartette,” Mr. Orchestral said. “As her workhorse.”
“Well, she’s a bit more than that, Mr. Or—”
“Oh? So you stopped playing the violin then?”
Sea Swirl’s brain screeched in her head. 
“That is too bad, my dear.”
“Probably for the best though,” Mr. Orchestral said. 
“Oh my, yes! Certainly for the best. I’m sure Miss Sea Swirl pays well enough.”
“Er, yeah…I like to think so…?” Sea Swirl said. 
“Good, good!” Mrs. Orchestral turned and smiled at Sea Swirl. “I was certain a mare of your talent and caliber would have no trouble covering her expense. After all, your works are simply exquisite. Speaking of, may I see mine?”
Sea Swirl’s brain was melting in her skull. There was something going on here that everypony else in the room understood, and she was scrambling to figure it out. She pulled the necklace out of the box without thinking and levitated it over to Mrs. Orchestral. 
“Stunning as always, Miss Sea Swirl,” the mare said as she took the jewelry with her own magic. She held the pearl necklace with the yellow topaz center before her eyes, and then slid it around her neck. She stretched her neck as she did, smiling when the familiar clicking sound came as the necklace locked. 
“Basso?” she asked without turning around, or even opening her eyes. 
“Miss Sea Swirl’s work is flawless, my dear.” 
The blue-green eyes opened at the praise and the mare smiled. She looked at Sea Swirl again. “And the earrings?”
“They’re right—oh.” Sea Swirl turned to fetch them but found that Symphony had already pulled the small box out. Without a word, or even looking at Sea Swirl or Mrs. Orchestral, the mare held the box out with her hoof. “Thanks, Symphony.”
Sea Swirl floated the box over to Mrs. Orchestral and the mare popped it open and put the blue topaz earrings on. They stood out wildly against her dark yellow coat and orange mane, but they matched perfectly with the blue trim on her dress. She smiled and turned on her hooves, doing a quick circle and causing her dress to rustle. 
“Pay Miss Sea Swirl, dear,” Mrs. Orchestral said as she walked over to a mirror. 
“Your payment, Miss Sea Swirl,” Mr. Orchestral said. He floated a coin bag over and Sea Swirl took it. She shook it once with her hoof, more out of habit than anything, and then floated it over to Symphony. The mare glanced at her, then at the bag, and after a moment she took it and placed it in her saddlebag 
It was bad business to count payment in front of a customer. Plus, the Orchestrals had never shortchanged her before. She had no reason to think they’d start now. 
“So, you two are going to the New Year party then?” Sea Swirl asked.  She was trying to fill the silence because whatever was bothering Symphony was becoming deafening. 
“Oh my, yes,” Mrs. Orchestral said as she turned back from the mirror.  “After the Hearth’s Warming Eve performance, it is the next social gathering on our list. It is a rather special event, attending the start of a new year with Royal Sisters. Will you be there?”
“Er…” Sea Swirl cocked her head to the side. Odds were she would be there, but she didn’t want to tell the Orchestrals why. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them with the knowledge exactly, but…they were Canterlot ponies through and through. If they found out that Sea Swirl had a standing invitation to any party in Canterlot, they might try to cozy up to her a bit more than she’d like. 
Not many ponies knew it—in fact, she wasn’t sure any ponies knew it—but Sea Swirl was very close friends with Princess Celestia. Because of that, even though she hadn’t officially received an invite, Sea Swirl knew she could walk right in without any problems. 
“Of course a pony of Miss Sea Swirl’s caliber will be there, my dear,” Mr. Orchestral chimed in. “We have seen her at other events. Isn’t that correct?”
“Yep!” Sea Swirl said quickly. “I’ll…probably be there. I haven’t heard much about it yet, but I’m sure somepony will want me to come. Ponies are always trying to make headway with me be inviting me to those things.” 
“Oh, I’m so pleased to hear it, Miss Sea Swirl,” Mrs. Orchestral said with a beaming smile. “Will Symphony be joining you by chance?”
“Um…I’m not sure,” Sea Swirl said. She turned to look at the yellow mare sitting, unmoving, on the couch. “I haven’t received an invite yet, and I’m not sure she’d want to go with me away. Or even at all.”
Sea Swirl thought she saw Symphony’s eyes twitch, but she wasn’t sure. 
“Nonsense,” Mrs. Orchestral said with a wave of her hoof. “It’s been Symphony’s dream ever since she was a little filly to go to one of these events. Or rather, she wants to play at one of them.”
Sea Swirl couldn’t help it. She had been doing her best to keep her face and emotions in check, but the Unicorn’s latest statement had just been too much for her. She turned and looked straight at the mare in the fancy dress.
“Um…Mrs. Orchestral. Do you…know Symphony?” 
“Of course we do,” Mrs. Orchestral said. 
“She is our daughter,” Mr. Orchestral added. 
Sea Swirl’s jaw dropped so fast that she worried she had pulled a muscle.  Her eyes kept jumping between Symphony and the Orchestrals. Her brain was spinning as it tried to wrap itself around this new information. 
Why hadn’t Symphony said something when they had walked up to the house? Why hadn’t she said anything when Mr. Orchestral had answered the door? Why was she just sitting there, still as stone, while Sea Swirl was floundering like a fish on the beach? 
“I…” Sea Swirl struggled to form words, but her brain was fried. 
“She didn’t tell you?” Mrs. Orchestral asked.
“Of course she didn’t,” Mr. Orchestral answered. “Stubborn girl. Always trying to embarrass us in front of other ponies.”
“What? No,” Sea Swirl said quickly, her gaze turning to Symphony. This time she definitely saw a scowl cross the Earth pony’s face. “I’m just…surprised, that’s all. I had no idea.”
“Oh, that sounds like our Symphony,” Mrs. Orchestral said. The mare looked at her daughter for a moment, but she made no move to go over to her. “She’s always been a bit antisocial I’m afraid. Comes from being an Earth pony.”
“No doubt,” Mr. Orchestral chimed in. 
“Um…” Sea Swirl looked at Symphony, but the mare had gone back to sitting perfectly still on the couch. Her face, though, seemed to be even darker than normal. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, it’s nothing like that,” Mrs. Orchestral said with a casual wave.  “We have nothing against Earth ponies. I mean, how could we? Our daughter is one. But you have to admit that they can be a bit…difficult.”
“Comes from having to do everything with their hooves most likely,” Mr. Orchestral added. “That stubbornness is just in their blood. And our little Symphony got a large quantity of it, I fear.”
Sea Swirl bit her lip. She was walking on brittle seashells right now, and one wrong step could spell disaster—either with the Orchestrals, or with Symphony. “What do you mean?” she asked. 
“Oh, I’m sure you’ve noticed how she is,” Mrs. Orchestral said with a smile. “You must, since she works for you. In fact, I’m surprised she agreed to it, being the way she is. Poor girl has always been a bit jealous of us Unicorns and our magic. You must have been very patient with her.”
Sea Swirl looked at Symphony. The mare’s face had contorted even more, but now it looked like she was deliberately avoiding Sea Swirl’s eyes. Was what her mother said true? Was she really jealous of Unicorns? The look on her face said it wasn’t jealousy, but something much worse. 
“But we’re very happy she’s found a nice job,” Mrs. Orchestral said. “Especially working for you. We have been so worried about her. We haven’t heard a peep from her for a while now.”
Before Sea Swirl could ask what that meant, Mr. Orchestral jumped in. “Girl ran away from home. Shouting some nonsense about becoming a famous musician, one to rival Miss Melody even.”
“Really?” Sea Swirl asked. The question wasn’t directed at the two Unicorns, but Symphony still refused to even glance at Sea Swirl. 
“Our little Symphony has always been fond of music, ever since she was young.” A smile—a real, genuine smile—spread across Mrs. Orchestral’s face for brief moment. “She grew up saying that, one day, she’d play for all of Canterlot. We managed to talk her out of it for a while…”
“You…you did?” Sea Swirl asked, shocked. 
“But of course. Our little musician is talented, to be sure, but she can’t hold a candle to the Unicorn musicians. They can play multiple instruments at the same time. We didn’t want her getting her hopes up, you see. Canterlot can be a very cruel place.”
“But then she heard about that Octavia girl, and that was all she would talk about,” Mr. Orchestral said with a sigh. “She kept going on and on about how if Miss Melody could do it, then so could she.”
“We kept trying to make her see how foolish that was, but she refused to see reason,” Mrs. Orchestral said. “Finally, one day, she just walked out the door. Took her violin, a small bag, and left. Today was the first day we have seen her since.”
“Rather shameful, making her parents worry like that,” Mr. Orchestral said with a dark edge. “Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Sea Swirl?” 
Sea Swirl had dived into some icy waters in her life, but the chill running through her body right now was beyond anything she had ever experienced. Her throat refused to relax and choked her tongue in the back of her mouth. She swallowed several times, trying to clear the lump, but it refused to budge. Her raspberry eyes darted between the mare on the couch and her two parents, and even though Symphony hadn’t budged, it felt like she was glaring holes through Sea Swirl’s chest. 
“Basso, darling, don’t drag Miss Sea Swirl into our family business,” Mrs. Orchestral said lightheartedly. She waved her hoof in the air, and just like that, Sea Swirl felt the tension melt from her body. 
“Quite right, dear,” Mr. Orchestral said with a small nod to Sea Swirl. “My apologies for my lack of etiquette, Miss Sea Swirl.” 
“Eh heh…” Sea Swirl scratched the back of her neck. She suddenly wanted to run out the door, screaming. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Well, we won’t keep you any longer,” Mrs. Orchestral said, and Sea Swirl felt a wave of relief wash over her at the words. She bowed and began to make her way quickly toward the door. 
“Glad you like your order, Mrs. Orchestral,” the Unicorn said as she pulled the door open with her magic. She turned to face the two Unicorns once more. “I look forward to—wah? Symphony?”
Without so much as a glance backward, Symphony walked right out the door that Sea Swirl had just opened. The Unicorn watched her go, stunned. 
“Do take care of our little Symphony,” Mrs. Orchestral said with a smile. “She is such a stubborn girl, after all.”
“Sometimes we wish she was a Unicorn,” Mr. Orchestral added as he stood next to his wife. “It’d be easier for all of us. But, she is who she is.”
Sea Swirl could hear the screeching inside her head at those words. She blinked once, and then managed to tear her gaze away from Symphony’s dwindling form and look back at her parents. 
“Um…” She had to be careful with her words. “Mr. and Mrs. Orchestral…you said you hadn’t seen Symphony since she left. If you don’t mind me asking, how long ago was that…?”
“One year, four months, and twenty days,” Mr. Orchestral said matter-of-factly. 
Sea Swirl slow-blinked again. They hadn’t seen their daughter in over a year? And they had just let her walk out the door without a word?
“Oh, we have kept tabs on her, Miss Sea Swirl,” Mrs. Orchestral said. “Don’t get the wrong idea. We check the papers every day to make sure she is safe. Mostly we checked the obituaries, but occasionally we checked the arts and whatnot, to see if she was performing. We would even send her money, if we knew where she lived.”
“Doubtful she would accept it though,” Mr. Orchestral said with a frown. “That girl is, as we have said, stubborn to a fault.”
Sea Swirl bit her lip to keep her voice in check. After several deep breaths through her nose, she managed to find the words she was looking for. 
“If…Symphony died,” she started slowly, remembering how she had first met the mare. “If she had died, what would you have done?”
“Why?” Mrs. Orchestral asked quickly. “Is she sick? Is there something wrong with her?”
Mr. Orchestral remained silent, but his eyes were wide. 
“No,” Sea Swirl said with a forced smile. “No, she’s fine. I was just…curious.” 
“Perish the thought,” Mrs. Orchestral said.
“She is our daughter, no matter the circumstances,” Mr. Orchestral added. “We would be heartbroken.” 
“Well, I’d better get going,” Sea Swirl said. She didn’t feel as relieved as she wanted, but at least there was a hint of it. “It’s getting late.”
“Tonight is supposed to be fairly cold as well,” Mrs. Orchestral said as Sea Swirl walked out the door. “Stay warm, dear. Tell Symphony to do that same.”
“Will do,” Sea Swirl said with a quick salute as she walked away from the front door. She didn’t look back when she heard the door close, but instead took off at a fast trot toward the street, hoping to catch up with Symphony. She reached the mansion’s fence, turned left onto the sidewalk—
“Whoa!” Sea Swirl skidded to a halt when Symphony appeared right in front of her. She had expected the mare to be halfway back home by now, but apparently she had decided to wait for her. 
“Are you okay?” Symphony asked. Her eyes met Sea Swirl’s for a moment, but then they looked down at the sidewalk. 
“That’s all you have to say?” Sea Swirl asked. She raised a hoof and pointed back toward the house they had just left. “Nothing about that?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Really?” Sea Swirl looked back at the Orchestrals’ home for a moment and then whipped around to face Symphony. “Because that sure seemed like a lot to me.  I mean, I just met your parents! And they’re…uh…” Sea Swirl trailed off, suddenly not sure what she should say. Symphony raised her head and just stared at her, her beautiful face a mask of indifference. But then her crystal blue eyes shifted for a split second, and Sea Swirl understood. 
“You’re…sure you don’t want to talk about it?” the Unicorn asked as the look in Symphony’s eyes vanished. “Over dinner maybe?” She winced when she said that last part, and then added quickly, “I mean, I’m not asking you on a date or anything. I know you don’t like me that way, or mares or anything, but…are you sure you’re okay?”
Sea Swirl closed her eyes, waiting for the berating that was no doubt coming her way, or at the very least the scowl to end all scowls. She held her breath as the seconds dragged on.
“Dinner sounds…nice.”
“Huh?” Sea Swirl opened one eye. Symphony had turned around and was heading down the street. She looked over her shoulder and waited for Sea Swirl to catch up. 
“Where?” the Earth pony asked once the Unicorn timidly walked up next to her.
“Well…I was kind of thinking my place—again, not trying to seduce you or anyth—”
“Yes, Sea Swirl, you have made that point very clear,” Symphony said with a slight edge in her voice. “Repeatedly.”
“Right. Sorry.” Sea Swirl rubbed the back of her neck as she laughed. “It’s just, you probably don’t want other ponies getting the wrong idea about you and me, so...”
“I…appreciate the gesture,” Symphony said quietly. 
“You made lunch, so I’ll take care of dinner,” Sea Swirl replied. She decided she would pull out all the stops for dinner tonight after what she had just witnessed.
Still, the meeting had a small silver lining to it at least. Sea Swirl felt like she understood Symphony at little better now. Plus, she now knew for a fact that the mare did love the violin, so— 
“Oh!” The lilac colored pony perked up a little as another idea jumped into her head. “I have something for you back at my place! It’s kind of a surprise.”
“What is it?” Symphony asked, her mood improving by a fraction. 
“It’s a surprise, silly.” 
The two mares walked back to Sea Swirl’s home in silence, Sea Swirl too afraid to say anything and Symphony not offering any form of conversation. When they arrived at the Unicorn’s home, Sea Swirl immediately dashed into the kitchen and began pulling out food and pots and pans to cook it in. Symphony offered to help and, not wanting to make the mare feel useless like her parents no doubt had, Sea Swirl pointed out a few little things she could help with, such as setting the table, cutting up a few vegetables, and keeping an eye on the stove while Sea Swirl took care of other things.
Thirty minutes later, the two mares were sitting at Sea Swirl’s dining table, eating a delicious carrot casserole with a bottle of the best wine Sea Swirl could find in he cupboard. She didn’t usually drink, but she got the feeling that Symphony probably enjoyed a glass every now and then, and that after what she had just been through, she probably needed one.
Judging by the way the Earth pony had downed her first glass before her third bite, Sea Swirl figured she was right. 
“It’s not vegetable soup, but I hope you like it,” Sea Swirl said with a smile as she took another bite from her plate. 
“It…” Symphony swallowed her food before continuing. “It may be even better than that.”
Sea Swirl smiled, and when she saw Symphony look up and offer a small smile of her own, the Unicorn smiled even harder. She wanted to see Symphony smile more often. She was so beautiful, but her face was usually so sullen. Sea Swirl knew she’d be even more striking if she would just open up a little more.
Then again, Symphony’s smiles caused Sea Swirl’s heart to skip, so maybe seeing them more often wasn’t exactly a good thing. 
Sea Swirl crewed on a rather stubborn piece of carrot as she tried not to stare at her…what was Symphony to her now? Were they friends? Sea Swirl liked to think they were. She stopped by every day now, but that could easily just be the fact that she worked for Sea Swirl now. Acquaintance then? That didn’t seem right either. They were closer than that for sure, right?
Sea Swirl decided to go with the friend label and swallowed the carrot. She reached for her glass of wine—careful not to use her magic—and took an extra long sip. She wasn’t sure if what she was about to say was going to help or make things worse, so she needed a little bit of a boost to get started. 
“Um, listen, Symphony…” The Unicorn bit her lip and looked down at the plate in front of her when the mare across the table looked up. “I know you don’t want to talk about that stuff, but…I like you just the way you are.” Symphony simply stared at her as she spoke, her crystal blue eyes betraying nothing, so Sea Swirl took a deep breath and quickly spit out the rest of her sentence. “And if you ever do want to talk about it, or just talk, I don’t mind listening. Okay, I’m done. I promise. Won’t say another word about it.”
The Unicorn held her breath for several seconds, sticking the tip of her tongue out between her lips as she waited for Symphony to scoff at her, or yell at her, or tell her to mind her own business.
“Thank you,” was the reply she got instead. 
Sea Swirl was so stunned by the response that she just nodded. The two finished their dinner in silence, cleared the table and washed the dishes in the same way, and ended up sitting on the couch in the living room before another word was finally spoken. 
“So, about that surprise,” Sea Swirl said with a grin. “I think you’re going to like it.”
“I admit that I am curious,” Symphony said. 
“I’ll go get it.” The Unicorn ran down the hall into her bedroom and pulled out the black case that she had been keeping under her bed. “Okay, close your eyes!” she called out as she began to walk back to the living room, the case floating behind her back. “Are they closed?”
“Yes,” Symphony answered. “This will not be like last time, I hope.”
“Heh, no,” Sea Swirl answered bashfully as she remembered the incident with the ocean view. She stuck her head in the room and sure enough, Symphony was sitting pristinely on the couch with her eyes gently closed. The Unicorn walked up to her, sat down on the couch once more, and gently set the case on the mare’s lap.
“Okay, open your eyes!” Symphony did as she was told and stared down at the case resting on her. “Do you like it?”
Symphony’s eyes went wide for a moment as she slowly opened the case, but then they narrowed and her whole face turned into a scowl as she looked at Sea Swirl. “Where did you find this?” she asked darkly. 
“Uh…” Sea Swirl had planned to tell her the truth, that it had been given to her by two ponies that had seemed to know her and had been trying to return it to her, but then she remembered something. 
Symphony had left in a hurry that day, as if she had been trying to avoid those two ponies. That, combined with the anger coating her face now, told Sea Swirl that telling her the truth might not be the best option. 
“A thrift shop,” the Unicorn said quickly. “Yeah, a thrift store. I was just browsing through one, looking for some old jewelry for inspiration, and I saw that. I was going to give it to you, since I remembered you were playing the violin at the Garden Party. Also, whomever it belonged to had the same name as you. See?” She pointed to the nameplate on the inside of the case. “I thought that was a nice little cherry on top of it.”
Symphony’s eyes shifted between the violin and Sea Swirl at least a dozen times, and every time Sea Swirl feared that the mare was going to see straight through her lie, but thankfully that didn’t happen. Eventually, Symphony closed the violin case and set it on the couch next to her.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “It is…a lovely gift.”
“I know you said you don’t play anymore, but…” Sea Swirl wasn’t sure why she was about to ask her question, because Symphony had been pretty clear the first time Sea Swirl had asked about music, but something inside her wanted to hear the mare play. “Well, your parents said you loved playing the violin. Want to give it a shot, maybe?”
“I cannot,” the Earth pony replied instantly. 
“Um…okay?”
“I’m afraid the bow is broken.”
“What?” Sea Swirl practically shouted. 
To prove her point, Symphony pulled the bow out of the violin case and held it up in front of Sea Swirl. Sure enough, all the strings had been snapped and were hanging loosely around Symphony’s hoof. The bow was nothing more than a fancy piece of wood now.
“It wasn’t like that when I got it!” Sea Swirl protested, her heart sinking into her stomach. “I swear!” For some reason, she could feel tears swelling up in her eyes. 
“These things happen from time to time,” Symphony replied as she nearly tossed the broken bow back into the case. She forced the lid close—almost slamming it—and then looked back at Sea Swirl. “But…it is a simple fix. I will have it repaired. Eventually.”
“I can get it repaired for you!” Sea Swirl said quickly. “Tomorrow, even! Really, it’s no trouble. Just tell me where—”
“I will take care of it, Sea Swirl.” The tone in Symphony’s voice made it clear that the topic was done, so Sea Swirl just nodded. The sinking feeling in her stomach lessened a little, but she still stared longingly at the violin case sitting behind the yellow pony. She had really wanted to hear her play. 
“Well, it’s getting pretty late,” the Unicorn said after a few minutes of silence. She looked out her window, and sure enough, the sun had set and the street lamps were all lit as the night sky covered everything. “You, uh…probably want to start heading home, huh?”
Symphony looked outside as well, but she made no move to get off the couch. “It has become rather late. It is no doubt rather cold outside by now, as well.” The mare’s eyes shifted to Sea Swirl for a second, but then went back to staring outside, and still, she made no move to get off the couch. 
Is she…?
Sea Swirl pushed the thought away. There was no way that was happening, right? 
“Yeah, the nights have been getting colder,” the Unicorn replied. “The Pegasus ponies are getting ready for winter. We’ll probably start getting snow pretty soon too.”
“No doubt.”
Symphony was still not moving from the couch. She couldn’t really be hoping what Sea Swirl thought she was, could she? 
Then again, she had just been through a lot. Maybe she was just too tired?
Sea Swirl decided to take a gamble.
“Say, Symphony, you can stay here tonight, if you want. I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it is kind of late, and like you said, it’s kind of cold out now, and you don’t have a scarf or anything. I can loan you one if you want. I mean, if you don’t want to stay here then—”
“Yes,” Symphony said quietly. 
“Okay,” Sea Swirl answered with a smile. Of course Symphony didn’t want to spend the night here. It was just wishful thinking on Sea Swirl’s part. “I’ll get you a scarf and I think I’ve got some spare—”
“No. I mean, I would like to sleep here tonight.” Symphony looked up, an odd look swirling in her eyes. “If you truly do not mind.” 
Sea Swirl’s heart threatened to jump into her throat. She forced the lump down and beamed from cheek to cheek. “Not at all! The bed is already made up for you. Just let me grab a blanket and some pillows and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“No.”
Sea Swirl had started to make her way down the hall when she froze at the statement. She slowly turned around, an awkward smile on her face. “Um…do you want to sleep on the couch then? Because I’m…not really comfortable with that. I mean, you’re my guest. I’m not about to let you sleep out here unless you really want to…”
“No,” Symphony said again. 
Sea Swirl nervously looked around the living room. Was she missing something? All Symphony was doing was sitting on the couch, much like she had when they were at her parents’ place.  She was trying to say something, but Sea Swirl felt like a blind filly lost in the Everfree Forest. 
“Um, Symphony, you’re going to have to help me out here,” the Unicorn said as she rubbed the back of her neck. “I mean, the only other place to sleep is the floor, and while the carpet’s nice, it’s not as comfortable as the couch.”
“I will not allow you to sleep on your couch at my expense,” the Earth pony said. She turned her head and looked Sea Swirl dead in the eye, and once again, her eyes were swirling with a strange expression. “And I would rather not sleep on the couch either.”
“Uh…so…what do we do…?”
Symphony stood up and walked toward Sea Swirl. The Unicorn took an involuntary step backward, but the yellow mare closed the distance too fast. She stopped just short of touching Sea Swirl’s muzzle with her own, and Sea Swirl had to struggle to keep from looking away. 
“Your bed is big enough for two ponies, is it not? It certainly seemed that way when I was in it the first time.”
“Yeah, but…are you sure? I mean, you saw what happened at Sea Pony’s Rest.”
“Your bed is bigger than the motel’s.”
“True, but—”
“Simply put a pillow or two between us, if it bothers you so,” Symphony said as she walked by, ending the conversation. “I trust you enough to control yourself.”
Sea Swirl watched Symphony’s flank swish back and forth as the mare walked down the hallway. Yes, Symphony could trust her to control herself. 
It’d be a lot easier if she wasn’t so beautiful though, the Unicorn thought to herself.


*                                                  *                                                  *


Symphony lay on her side, her back to Sea Swirl’s body, as she rested on the most comfortable bed in her life. She wondered if this was what it was like for a Pegasus that was sleeping on a cloud. 
The room was completely dark, and the only sound was the rhythm of Sea Swirl’s soft breathing next to her. For a while, it had been shallow and tense, and even though Symphony had never once looked over at her, she knew that the Unicorn had remained perfectly still while she was awake. The tension coming from her had been so thick that it felt like a second blanket was smothering Symphony. 
But eventually, Sea Swirl’s breathing had relaxed and the tension had vanished. Now it was just Symphony, alone with nothing but her thoughts.
She hated herself. She hated herself for lying to Sea Swirl. She hated herself for being an Earth pony. She hated herself for sleeping in the same bed as another mare. She hated herself for sleeping in the same bed as a Unicorn. She hated herself for wanting it to happen. 
She hated Sea Swirl for agreeing to let her stay. She hated the Unicorn for asking stupid questions, doing stupid gestures, and most of all, she hated her for caring about her.
She hated her parents. She hated them for everything they had said to her for her entire life. She hated them for everything they had said about her in front of Sea Swirl. She hated Sea Swirl for not saying anything to them about it. She hated herself for wanting Sea Swirl to say something, and she hated herself for being relieved that Sea Swirl had remained silent. 
She hated her violin and all the emotions seeing it brought back. She hated Sea Swirl for giving it to her, and she hated herself for accepting it. She hated that she had snapped the strings when Sea Swirl wasn’t looking to avoid playing for her, and she hated that Sea Swirl had looked so disappointed. And she hated that she felt bad for letting Sea Swirl down. She hated that she cared that Sea Swirl was disappointed.
But most of all, she hated herself because for lying to herself. And come morning, she would start lying again, to herself and to Sea Swirl, because that was what she did. She hated herself because she knew it was going to happen and there was nothing she could do about it.
But right now, alone in the darkness and drowning in her hate, she gave in. She gave in to the small glimmer of warmth that she had kept tied up and gagged in the darkest part of her mind ever since the incident at the motel. 
She had lied to Sea Swirl that morning. She had told the Unicorn that she didn’t remember anything, but the truth was the exact opposite.. She remembered all of it. 
And it was like an addiction for her now. It was a crutch, a drug, and she had been burying it as hard and as deep as she could, but after today, she needed her fix. Like an addict, she had been struggling to control herself the moment she had entered Sea Swirl’s house.
And she loathed herself because of it. 
That night in the motel, Symphony had been simmering with annoyance, at both herself and Sea Swirl, for so many things. She had been so buried in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard the sheets rustling until it was too late.
When the lavender hoof had wrapped around her shoulder, she had wanted to scream. She had wanted to jump out of the bed and throw Sea Swirl across the room. How dare this filly fooler try to put the moves on her?
But the moment had been so shocking that she had frozen completely. And as she laid there, the hoof wrapped around her shoulder, she had come to realize that Sea Swirl wasn’t trying anything. The mare had simply been asleep, and she was just snuggling up to Symphony. She had wiggled even closer, until her foreleg was draped entirely over Symphony’s shoulder and the mare could feel the Unicorn’s body gently pressing against her back. 
And ultimately, Symphony had fallen asleep in Sea Swirl’s embrace, and had slept more peacefully than she had in her entire life. She hadn’t woken up until she had felt Sea Swirl’s body grinding against the back of her thigh. 
At first, she had been confused, but as the grinding continued, she had quickly realized what was happening. The only reason she hadn’t tried to stop it was because she didn’t know what to do. Sea Swirl had clearly still been asleep, and she had woken up before she her body had gone too far, but a thought had been in Symphony’s mind ever since:
How far would she have let Sea Swirl go? Would she have let the mare finish if it came to it?
Symphony hated herself for even considering the thought, but right now, she didn’t care—and she hated herself for that too. 
She wanted Sea Swirl to hold her again. She wanted to feel the sense of peace it had brought the first time. Tears began to fill her eyes as she lay in the dark, drowning in her hate and wishing for something that she told herself she found disgusting to happen to her. 
The sound of rustling sheets suddenly filled the room and Symphony tensed. She held her breath, straining her ears for any hint of noise. She heard the mare next to her groan a little, and then she felt the bed shake a little under her. A moment later, she heard a soft thud next to her head. She waited a few more moments, but that was all that happened. Taking a deep breath, she slowly raised her head and looked over her shoulder.
In the dim light, Symphony could just make out the form of Sea Swirl next to her in the bed. She had rolled over onto her back and was now sleeping with her forelegs sprawled out on her half of the bed. Her right hoof was resting peacefully on one of the two pillows that Sea Swirl had placed between them. 
Tears still swelling in her eyes, Symphony slowly began to move across the bed, taking extra care to not wake the Unicorn. First she moved the bottom pillow, tossing it onto the floor at the foot of the bed. She had to make it look like Sea Swirl had simply knocked it off while she was tossing and turning in her sleep, after all. 
Once that was done, Symphony waited. She stared at the Unicorn sleeping in the bed, watching her soft chest slowly rise and fall with each breath. She looked so peaceful, and Symphony found herself studying the curves of her face and memorizing the beats between each breath. Her mane had turned into a tangled mess around her head, with parts of it wrapped around her horn and other strands clinging to her delicate face. 
Sea Swirl made a face as she slept, and Symphony tensed, but all the Unicorn did was roll over again, toward Symphony. The hoof that had been resting on the remaining pillow shifted and slid under the pillow, while Sea Swirl’s other front hoof came down on top of the pillow. She was now cuddling it like it was a stuff animal.
Or a pony. 
Or a certain griffon, she thought bitterly. 
Symphony blinked back tears and told the voice screaming in her head to be silent as she made her next move. Moving even slower than before, she pulled the pillow out between Sea Swirl’s front hooves and gently put it down at the foot of the bed. With any luck, Sea Swirl would wake up and just think that she had kicked it out of the way as well. 
With the pillow gone, nothing was stopping Symphony from giving in to the addiction that was gnawing at her. She carefully turned back around, her back facing Sea Swirl once again, and began to slide across the bed. 
“I don’t care,” she whispered to the voice in her head that was demanding that she stop. She shoved it, along with all the rage, bitterness, and hatred that was threatening to consume her, into the deepest part of her mind, forcing it to take the place of the addiction, just for one night.  As she did, the addiction was set free and flooded her body.
This time, when Symphony felt the tip of Sea Swirl’s hoof on her back, she didn’t tense up. She relaxed and reached over her shoulder until she found the hoof. She lifted it delicately into the air and propped herself up with her other foreleg. She slid closer to the Unicorn, allowing Sea Swirl’s hoof that was still on the bed to slide under her. Once that was done, Symphony slowly lowered herself back down onto the bed, making sure the foreleg was nestled in a cozy position beneath her body. Then, she gently lowered Sea Swirl’s other hoof, draping it around her shoulder like a scarf. 
Despair flooded her entire being as she wiggled herself further into Sea Swirl’s embrace. She pushed in until she felt the Unicorn’s chest against her back. No longer able to fight them off, tears streamed from her eyes as she felt the familiar sensation of the Unicorn’s chest slowly pressing against her backside with each breath. She shivered as she felt the tingling air rustling through her mane and dancing across her neck. 
Sea Swirl made another small noise and pulled herself closer, wrapping her forelegs tightly around Symphony’s body. The Canterlot part of her, the part that she had shoved into a cage for just tonight, screamed with all its might. It rattled the bars of it cage and threw out threats left and right. 
But the other part of Symphony, the part that was finally free, even if it was just for one night, didn’t care. It made Symphony snuggled closer to Sea Swirl in turn, made her rub her cheek against the foreleg that was wrapped around her, and told her that, for tonight at least, she was wanted. 
“I don’t care,” Symphony whispered again, tears still falling from her eyes. She nuzzled the crook of Sea Swirl’s foreleg, and began to search around with one of her hind legs under the covers. It found one of Sea Swirl’s legs, and Symphony pulled the Unicorn’s leg closer and then wrapped her leg around Sea Swirl’s, pulling it up until it was between her thighs. Briefly, she wondered what would happen if Sea Swirl started grinding on her again in her sleep—her leg was practically touching Symphony in a certain spot now—but Symphony brushed the thought aside. She didn’t care. She had put Sea Swirl in this position, so she had no one to blame but herself if something happened.
Symphony knew that, in the morning, she would lie about it all. She would blame Sea Swirl, because that was what she did. But right now, she told herself that it was be her own fault. 
Besides, if the price of this addiction, if this feeling of being wanted, could only be paid by helping the Unicorn climax with sexual pleasure, she told herself she was willing to pay it.
You’ll just lie about that in the morning too, you know...
“I don’t care,” she whispered as the tears finally stopped and she drifted off to blissful sleep.