> Shattered
>  by Zeck
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Catch A Falling Star
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The water parted and blinding sunlight filled the Unicorn’s vision. Fresh air rushed into her lungs as she broke the surface and took to the sky. She twisted her body into a half spin and spread her front hooves toward the sky as she fell back toward the water. She smiled up at the sun and relished the countless glistening droplets that surrounded her. They were more beautiful to her than anything she ever found at the bottom of lakes or the ocean because they never lasted. They existed only for a brief moment before they were returned to the waters that made them. She watched one land right at the tip of her nose and she smiled, then spun again and plunged back into the water. 
She felt the familiar playful tug on her mane and the bubbles rushing through her coat. Her tail swam behind her, bringing a comforting weight to her mind. She rolled through the water several times until she was surrounded by bubbles and her tail was tickling her nose. She floated for a few moments in utter bliss, wishing she could stay this way forever, but as the bubbles thinned and her lungs began to protest, she resigned herself to returning to the real world. 
Sea Swirl’s iris mane broke the surface of the lake a second time followed instantly by the rest of her head. She didn’t fly into the air this time, but simply bobbed along the surface. She sighed and laid on her back in the water and allowed herself to float while she stared at the sky. She loved the water and there was nothing like a good swim after a long day’s work. It helped her relax, and if it weren’t for the fact that she needed to eat, there were days when she would have simply remained in the water.
The Unicorn took another deep breath and lazily began to backstroke toward the shoreline. She tilted her head back a bit until she was looking at the world upside down. Her satchel was still sitting in the white sand, its flap gently flopping back and forth in the breeze. 
“Guess I should be heading back,” she said. She rolled over in the water and then closed on the shore in a matter of moments. She felt the sand come up under her hooves and she stood up to walk the rest of the way out. She stood on the sand and allowed her mane to hang about her face in a wet mess. Some of it fell into her raspberry-colored eyes and she giggled as it tickled her nose. She took a deep breath and blew the strands out of her face, but they fell right back. She rolled her eyes and brushed her hoof through her hair, draping the wet strands over her horn to keep them out of her eyes. 
Sea Swirl shook herself and whipped her tail, sending water flying in every direction. She flicked her head once, snapping her mane through the air, and smiled when it fell back into place, safely out of her eyes. She then turned to her satchel and sat down to rummage through it. 
“Okay, let’s see make sure I got everything I need.” She dug through the bag to take inventory; five emeralds, three sapphires, a few rubies, and over twenty pearls. More than enough to fill all of her current orders she decided. She put the satchel on her back and stood up. Her hooves sank into the sand with the extra weight for a moment, but she didn’t mind. Next to the feel of water, the feel of sand brushing against her hooves was her favorite thing in the world. 
As Sea Swirl began to walk along the shore, she smiled at the sound that the stones made as they clinked together. It was true that most of them could easily be mined, dug up, or in some cases found inside rocks, but the ones she found were special. They spent years underwater. While precious stones that were removed from the ground were rough and had sharp edges, the ones from the ocean or lakes were smooth. Currents gently rubbed away their edges, and sometimes minerals in the water mixed with the stones, creating breathtaking swirls of color. Ponies could certainly chisel and smooth gems down with tools, but they never managed to capture the same feel and natural beauty as a gem that came from the ocean.
And then there were the pearls.  They were Sea Swirl’s milk and butter, because they couldn’t be mined. They only came from the water, and that made them a rarity. And like any rare item, that made them all the rage in Canterlot. She was always receiving requests, and in many cases demands, for the small white items. One pony had once asked, in a not too polite way, for over five hundred of them in the matter of a day. Sea Swirl had told her the impossibility of such a task, to which the pony had threatened to run her out of Canterlot. That threat had lasted for only a day. Once other ponies had found out that their precious pearl merchant was being threatened, they had nearly run the client out of Canterlot instead. Only Sea Swirl’s threat of not selling to any of them had prevented it.
The Unicorn didn’t much care for Canterlot society. The pay was certainly nice and the bits she made more that covered her traveling expenses, but there were days when she wished she could just leave it all behind. She just didn’t fit in there.
Of course, she didn’t really fit in back home in Ponyville either. She spent so much time in Canterlot, or traveling to the ocean or lakes around Equestria, that ponies back in Ponyville barely noticed her. Sometimes, when she had a big order to fill, she would be gone for weeks, and yet no pony would even notice. She would come back home to find her mailbox empty, her house undisturbed, and no pony waiting for her. At least in Canterlot ponies noticed her, even if it was just for her services. 
Sea Swirl sighed and fell backward onto the sand, tossing her satchel aside as she did. One place that valued her for the wrong reasons and another that didn’t seem to value her at all. She wondered if there was any place she could go where she’d actually feel like she was a part of the community. 
As the Unicorn lay on her back, her eyes drifted up the mountain far above. She saw Canterlot sticking out of the mountainside, its grandeur supported by brilliantly white pillars. She supposed most ponies found it beautiful, but to Sea Swirl, it was just stone. What she enjoyed looking at were the flowing, crystal clear waterfalls that fell from the city. They started somewhere further up the mountain as a river. The river was always flowing, carving its way through the mountain and forming a beautiful sequence of waterfalls, one after another, until it pooled into a lake around Canterlot. The lake was a common tourist spot for visiting ponies, and Sea Swirl had to admit that at night, the water caught the moonlight and starlight just right, making it seem like the city was floating in the sky.
But the water couldn’t stay around Canterlot forever. The city would flood, and so trenches had been dug and other pools had been built and the water continued to flow down the mountain. One stream fed into a pony-made pool beneath Canterlot, which was where the more elite of the city went to swim in order to avoid the common rabble, while the other two streams flowed freely down the mountainside. The results were the biggest waterfalls in all of Equestria. The roar of the falling water was terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time, and at certain parts of the day, Celestia’s sun hit the waterfalls and turned them into flowing rainbows. Not like the rainbows that Cloudsdale has spilling out of their city, but true rainbows. If she was ever near the area at the right time, Sea Swirl always made sure that she caught a glimpse of them. 
All of that water eventually came crashing down in a violent display of power at the base of the mountain and fed the very lake that Sea Swirl had been swimming in. She made it a point to stay away from the waterfalls because of their pressure, but every now and then she would sneak close to them just to feel the rush of the water as it churned around her.
She also occasionally found some interesting items near the place. Watches, jewelry, cups, glasses, and…some more private items sometimes if she was there at night. She always pulled everything out and tried to return the ones she could, but most of the time the items were damaged beyond repair so she just threw them away along with the actual trash she always found. She didn’t want one of her favorite swimming holes to become a dump. 
“Jet Set and Upper Crust are probably getting impatient,” Sea Swirl said as she continued to stare up at the city above and listen to the roaring water nearby. She sighed and sat up, listening to the sound the sand made as it fell out of her coat. She shook herself once to remove the rest of it and then stood up. She grabbed her satchel and continued her trek across the shoreline. 
The Unicorn reached her cart and tossed her satchel into it. She now had five full bags of gems and pearls. That was more than enough to last her for a while, even with some of the crazy orders she had received. Of course, now she had a new problem. Canterlot was way up the mountain, and she was at the bottom of it. With a cart that weighed more than she did. 
Groaning, Sea Swirl hitched herself to her cart and began the long walk back up the mountain. She had once tried to use her magic to help her move the cart along, but the thing was so heavy and the trip was so long that it had worn her out long before she had even reached the halfway point. So now she just pulled the cart up the hill. It wasn’t that hard for her. It was just work, and not the fun type of work like diving for precious stones. 
Sea Swirl stopped and looked back at the lake one last time. The water still looked so inviting, and she was certain she could find more gems in it if she really wanted to. But she didn’t want to. She just wanted to swim some more, and she knew that wasn’t right. She still needed to eat, fill orders, and pay bills, and until she found a way to make just swimming do all of that, she was forced to resort to gem diving and all the extra work that entailed. 
“This weekend I’m free,” she said. She looked up at the roaring waterfalls and the cliffs above. Assuming she was able to get everything done, she could take the weekend off and go swimming. Maybe even go to the ocean. She hadn’t been there for a bit, and she was certain that Aqua missed her. It would be so nice to—
“What is that?” Sea Swirl narrowed her eyes and tried to focus on the object she saw. It was falling from the cliffs up above, and falling rather quickly too. The Unicorn growled in anger. Some fancy pants Canterlot pony was probably throwing trash over the cliff again. Didn’t they realize that other ponies lived in Equestria and that the country wasn’t their own special dumping ground? She was going to have to talk to Celestia about this. Surely the Princess could pass some law or something that stopped ponies from…
Sea Swirl’s thoughts trailed off as the object drew closer. Was that a pony? No, that wasn’t possible. The swimming pool at Canterlot had a fence around the entire ring, a grate that blocked anything larger than a minnow from passing through the drain, and at least two Pegasi always on watch duty just in case. The only way a pony could fall from that height would be if she jumped off the actual cliff by the lake up there, but no pony would be that—
“Oh Celestia!”
It was a pony, and judging by the fact that Sea Swirl didn’t see any wings, it was a non-flying pony. Which meant that if it hit the water from that height…
Sea Swirl frantically searched the skies for any sign of a Pegasus. Maybe one was diving to catch the pony right now and she just couldn’t see it. That had to be it. Except, she didn’t see any sign of a rescue. There were no other dark shapes in the sky diving after the falling pony.  
Sea Swirl began to prance in place. What was she supposed to do? Call for help? But what help would make it in time? The Wonderbolts were fast, but not that fast. No, if help was going to come, she had to be the one to bring it. 
Sea Swirl lunged forward and fell flat on her face as the weight of the cart pulled on her. Cursing, she kicked herself free from the harness and began to run as fast as she could back toward the lake. She hit the sand and for once didn’t relish the feeling of her hooves sinking into it. It felt like she was running through syrup now, and every second dragged on forever as she watched the pony fall. She wasn’t going to make it in time. 
Sea Swirl took a deep breath, deeper than any she took when she went diving, and focused all of her concentration on her magic. She closed her eyes for half a second and started to shake as the magic built around her horn, then she opened them and reached out for the falling pony. 
The Unicorn smiled in relief when she felt her spell close around the falling pony and slow her decent, but that relief quickly vanished when the spell broke two seconds later. The pony had simply been falling too fast for her to get a good grip on it. She watched in horror as the pony slammed into the water near the roaring falls and disappeared from sight. 
“Oh no. No no no no…” The Unicorn put on a burst of speed as she closed on the water’s edge. Even she had trouble swimming near those powerful waterfalls, and she practically lived in the water. If that pony had somehow survived the fall, it was going to drown under all of that pressure. 
Sea Swirl began casting her spells as she ran. She felt the magic glaze over her eyes. The air around her head began to swirl as she closed it around herself. She reached the water just as the last spell soaked into her coat and mane and she dove in without pause. 
Thanks to her spells she didn’t even feel the dive. The water slipped across her coat as if she was covered in oil, allowing her to swim through it with unnatural speed. The pressure beat against her eyes but didn’t sting them because of the glaze she had placed over them, and her lungs filled with air as the spell around her head sucked the oxygen straight from the water and fed it directly into her throat. She didn’t like using any of these spells because they took away the sensations she loved most about swimming, but now she needed them. 
Sea Swirl swam like a pony possessed toward the roaring waterfalls. Usually she found the sight of the white water tearing through the water under the surface soothing, but right now it terrified her. She had never dared to actually swim into the torrents because she doubted she was strong enough to escape them, but she had no choice. She briefly caught a glimpse of yellow fur among the chaos and she pressed forward. 
Even with her spell reducing the water’s effect on her, Sea Swirl still found herself struggling against current. The water beat on her relentlessly and the bubbles obscured her vision. She frantically looked around for any sign of the pony as her lungs started to strain. She looked back at her tail and saw that it was slowly changing from its normal iris color to a dark shade of blue. She had maybe another minute before the spell wore off and she would need to breathe regularly again, and if she was still near the waterfalls, that was going to be impossible. 
Panic began to rise in the Unicorn as she continued to struggle against the water. Where was that poor pony? Was it even still alive? What if she died trying to find it? What if—
Another flash of yellow beneath Sea Swirl caught her eye. She shot straight down, allowing the pressure from the waterfalls to help her decent, until she reached the bottom of the lake where the yellow mare was. Her eyes were closed and she wasn’t moving. Sea Swirl feared she was too late. 
Sea Swirl coughed and felt precious air escape her lungs. She had to leave the water now or risk drowning. She reached out and grabbed the mare by the hoof and then pressed her hind legs against the lake’s bottom. She counted to one and then pushed off of the sandy floor as hard as she could, dragging the mare behind her. Her muscles strained with the effort as she fought the current. The magic on her eyes faded and they began to sting as the water beat on them. Her lungs burned as her breathing spell collapsed. Her hoof ached as she held on to the mare as best she could. The surface was so far away. She wasn’t going to make it. If she let go, she might still have a chance…
Sea Swirl shoved the thought aside and used the anger it caused to give her another burst of speed. Just when she was certain she could go no further and her eyes started to dim, her face broke the surface. 
Air rushed into her lungs and she coughed violently. She had only come close to drowning once before and she had forgotten just how terrifying the experience was. She tried to suck in more air but it seemed like she was only inhaling water. She spat it out constantly, wondering if she had somehow managed to swallow the entire lake, when she remembered why she had done something so foolish. 
Sea Swirl looked behind herself and pulled the mare to the surface. She didn’t move, didn’t gasp for air, or show any signs of life at all. Panic rose once again and Sea Swirl began to swim for the shore, making sure that she kept the mare’s head above water as best she could. The swim was the hardest of her life, and just like when she had been trying to reach the surface, it seemed to take forever. Several times she almost lost her hold on the mare, but finally she reached the shallows and was able to stand up. She grabbed the mare’s mane and dragged her the rest of the way out before collapsing on the sand herself. 
“You…you better…be alive…” Sea Swirl gasped as she lay on the sand. She rolled over onto her stomach and looked at the mare. She wasn’t breathing. That got Sea Swirl moving instantly. She knelt next to the unconscious pony and put her ear to the mare’s chest. No heartbeat. That wasn’t a good sign either, but she knew what to do. She had spent enough time around and in water that she had learned a few things. 
Sea Swirl put her mouth on the mare’s and blew and then pressed down on her chest three times. Nothing happened so she tried again. Again nothing. Frustration flooded her mind and body as she bent down for a third time. Once again, she put her mouth to the other pony’s and blew in a breath, but before she was able to pull away, water rushed into her mouth. 
Sea Swirl gagged and nearly spit the water back into the mare’s mouth, but she was able to pull away and spit it out on the mare’s chest instead. She was grateful that the pony still seemed to be unconscious because she thought that was pretty disgusting. 
The yellow mare began coughing more and more as she spit up water from her lungs. Sea Swirl tilted her up and gently held her there as water dribbled down her cheeks and neck. She shuddered violently as she coughed and Sea Swirl reached out and stroked her forehead. 
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I got you. You’re safe.”
The mare just groaned and went limp in Sea Swirl’s embrace. For a moment, the Unicorn feared she had lost the pony again, but she relaxed when she saw her chest slowly rising and falling. At least she was alive. Whether or not she was going to be okay was a different story. 
With her nerves calming and the adrenaline fading from her body, Sea Swirl finally looked at the mare she was holding. She was an Earth pony, with a bright yellow coat that glistened in the afternoon sun. Her purple mane was longer than most ponies’ and it was draped across her face and over her shoulders. Parts of it were already starting to dry and it looked like it was naturally wavy. Her tail appeared to be the same way, with the edges of it starting to curl already in the sun. Her cutie mark was some sort of music note, a few shades lighter than her mane and tail. 
All and all, Sea Swirl thought she looked rather pretty. Her lips had certainly been soft, and Sea Swirl licked her own as she thought about them. Then she blushed and shoved the thought out of her mind. 
The mare didn’t look like she had suffered any injuries from her fall, but there was a nasty bruise forming on her cheek. Had somepony hit her? Had somepony…thrown her off of the cliff? 
Sea Swirl’s blood ran cold with that thought. If somepony had tried to kill this pony, then odds were they thought she was dead. If they found out she was still alive, then no doubt they would try again. And they might even come after Sea Swirl in order to keep her silent. They might even be on their way down to the lake right now, and she was in no condition to fight. She had exhausted all of her magic with her breathing spell. She needed to get both of them out of there before whoever had tried to kill the mare showed up.
Sea Swirl did her best to put the mare on her back. It took some doing, and once she finally managed to get her safely up there she realized just how heavy another pony was, but she didn’t care. The Unicorn forced her hooves to move through the sand as she began to carry the unconscious Earth pony back toward her cart. 
“Who…?” a soft voice whispered. Sea Swirl stopped and looked over her shoulder to see a pair of beautiful crystal blue eyes staring up at her.
Wow, those are pretty…
“Who…are you…?” the pony asked.
“I’m Sea Swirl,” she replied. “I saved you.”
“W…Why…?”
Sea Swirl was about to ask her why she was asking such a weird question, but the mare’s eyes fluttered shut again. Well, at least she knew the mare could still talk, even if she didn’t seem to be making much sense. 
Sea Swirl reached her cart and stared at the bags of precious stones she had collected. There was no possible way she was going to be able to carry them and the pony all the way back up the mountain to Canterlot. She had no choice then. She began to pull the bags out and emptied each one. She sighed as the gems spilled out onto the ground. She didn’t care about leaving them behind, but she wasn’t looking forward to Jet Set and Upper Crust, and probably several other ponies, being irritated with her for delaying their order. 
Sea Swirl was about to dump out her last bag, the satchel she had filled with pearls and a few other stones, but she decided not to. Pearls were her specialty, and while she didn’t mind if another pony came along and claimed all of the gems she had just dumped, she didn’t want somepony doing the same with the pearls. She shoved the satchel all the way to the back of the cart and then carefully laid the mare in the cart too. She wished she had a blanket or at least a pillow to make her more comfortable, but there was nothing.
Sea Swirl walked to the front of her cart and hitched herself to it. She looked up at the city high up the mountain and then looked up at the sky. It was going to be dusk by the time she reached Canterlot. Not that that was an entirely bad thing. There would be fewer ponies out and she wouldn’t have to worry about having to explain why she was carrying an unconscious pony in the back of her cart. The guards might get suspicious, but if it came to it she could just call Celestia and have the whole thing straightened out. 
Sea Swirl began the long walk back up the mountainside, doing her best to go as smoothly as she could. Every now and then she glanced over her shoulder to check on the mare, but the Earth pony didn’t move and only occasionally let out a quiet groan. The Unicorn wondered what her name was, where she had come from, if she played any instruments, and what she was like in general.
She wondered about all of those things and more, but one thought kept creeping to the front her mind.
Those lips had been so soft. 
	
> It's Not A Dinner Date
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sea Swirl stood in the kitchen, humming a tune and preparing dinner. She kept looking over her shoulder, hoping to see the yellow mare coming down the hallway, but so far there had been nothing. She looked again, but still all she saw was an empty hallway. She tried to push her anxiety away and went back to cooking. 
The pot on the stove started to tremble as its contents reached a boil. She pulled it off of the burner and set it on a hotplate with her magic, then went back to cutting up vegetables. Once that was done, she tossed them into the pot. There. Nothing like a comfy vegetable soup to help somepony feel better. 
Of course, the mare had to wake up first, but once she did, Sea Swirl was certain she would be starving. She hoped her guest enjoyed milk. She had never met a pony who didn’t, but she supposed it was possible. This was Canterlot after all. Ponies here were a bit more refined in their tastes than the ones back in Ponyville. Still, milk was a universal drink in her mind, and it was better than just plain old water.
Sea Swirl levitated a carrot to her mouth and absentmindedly took a bite from it as she began pulling out dishes and silverware. There were so many things she wanted to ask the mare, and again she found herself looking down the hallway as she chewed on another bite and began to pour the soup. The mare had been asleep in the bedroom for two hours now. What if she never woke up? Maybe Sea Swirl should have—
“Ouch!” she said as some of the hot soup she had been pouring splashed on her. She hissed in pain and tried to blow on herself as she grabbed a towel with her magic. She ran it under the sink and then pressed it against her chest. The pain dimmed instantly and she began to try and scrub the liquid out of her coat. She didn’t want to look like a slob when her guest finally woke up. 
Sea Swirl set the towel down and resumed pouring the soup. She filled two bowls and levitated them over to the table, then filled two glasses with ice cold milk and set them on the table too. Finally, she took the pot and placed it in the middle of the table on its hotplate. There. Dinner was all ready. Now she just needed her company to make an appearance and things could get started. 
Sea Swirl looked at her simple dining table and cocked her head. Something was missing. She needed to make this mare feel welcomed. After all, she had nearly been killed, and now she was going to be waking up in a strange place and be offered a meal by a complete stranger. For all Sea Swirl knew, the mare could wake up and run out of her house screaming that somepony was holding her against her will. That wouldn’t go over very well, so she needed to find some way to make the atmosphere more inviting. 
Candles! Sea Swirl clicked her tongue in excitement as the idea jumped into her head. Everypony loved candles, or at least ponies in Canterlot did. All the big restaurants always had candles burning at their tables in the evening. That would surely help calm the mare’s nerves once she woke up. 
The Unicorn walked into her living room and pulled two sea-scented candles from the closet and then walked back into her kitchen. She put both of them on the table and rummaged around for a match. She found one and lit the candles with it. She then turned down the other lights until only the table was fairly illuminated. There. It looked just like a high-end Canterlot restaurant, minus the fancy waiters, fancy food, and other ponies. Okay, so maybe it didn’t look exactly like that, but it was still a nice atmosphere she decided. No pressure for her guest to deal with. 
Sea Swirl looked down the hallway again and cocked her head. She had already been in the bedroom countless times since bringing the mare home. At first, she had just sat in there, watching her sleep. Not in a creepy sort of way, of course, but just to make sure she was comfortable. When she didn’t wake up, Sea Swirl had tried to occupy herself, whether with cleaning, or taking tally of her inventory, or anything else, but everything she had tried hadn’t worked. She had always found herself wandering back into the bedroom and checking on the mare.
Finally, she had forced herself to go prepare dinner, knowing that she couldn’t conveniently find an excuse to leave and check on the pony while the stove was on. It had worked, but now dinner was ready. It was sitting right there on the table, in the candlelight. And it was getting cold. No pony wanted to eat cold soup. She should probably go see if her guest was awake yet. Yes, because she didn’t want the soup to get cold. That was all. 
Sea Swirl trotted down the hall and stopped at the bedroom door. She knocked quietly, then opened it a little. She poked her head in and whispered, “Hello?”
The Earth pony was still asleep on the bed. Sea Swirl had tucked her under the velvet covers and propped her head up on the down pillows. She looked perfectly normal, as if she was simply sleeping and hadn’t nearly died, but she had looked like that for hours now. Sea Swirl was starting to get worried that she might actually never wake up.
The Unicorn entered the room and carefully walked over to the bed. She reached out to gently shake the mare, but stopped before she touched her. The bruise on her face was going down, but it was still clearly visible. A dark purple spot on her yellow face. It almost matched the shade of her long wavy mane, a strand of which had fallen down into the pony’s face. Sea Swirl reached out and brushed it aside, and the pony stirred. 
Sea Swirl jumped back and crashed into the chest of drawers she had in her room. She turned around and tried to steady it, but her tail whipped around and smacked the lamp she had sitting on the nightstand. She turned again and dove to catch, completely forgetting about her magic. It landed in her hooves as she slammed into the ground. She let out a breath and chuckled, then winced when she heard something fall off of her dresser. Then another, and another, and another. It wasn’t long before it was a constant sound of thump-thump-thump as the pearls rolled and fell onto the floor. 
Sea Swirl cringed at each sound. It seemed to last forever and she felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment as the moment dragged on. She hoped the noise didn’t wake her guest.  She didn’t want to startle her. 
The falling pearls finally ceased and Sea Swirl stood. She placed the lamp back on its nightstand and looked down at her sleeping guest, grateful that the noise hadn’t woken her.
Except that it had. Sea Swirl found herself starring at a pair of blue eyes. And they didn’t look too happy, judging by how narrow they were. 
“Um…sorry about that,” Sea Swirl laughed as she backed away from the bed. “I didn’t mean to, uh, wake you. I mean, I did, but not like that. I was just going to give you a little nudge and—”
“Who are you?” the Earth pony asked in a quiet and icy voice. 
“Me? Oh, I’m Sea Swirl,” Sea Swirl replied as she tapped her chest. “Nice to meet you…um, what’s your name?”
The Earth pony blinked once, but didn’t take her eyes off of Sea Swirl. 
“Uh…do you not remember it?” the Unicorn asked. “You did have a pretty—”
“Symphony,” the Earth pony replied curtly. 
“Oh, sorry. I don’t have any music, but I can—”
“My name,” the Earth mare said. “It is Symphony.”
“Oh!” Sea Swirl blushed and then smiled. “Nice to meet you, Symphony.” 
Symphony tore her eyes away from Sea Swirl for a brief moment and looked around the room, but quickly returned her gaze to the Unicorn. “Where am I?”
“My bed,” Sea Swirl said with a proud smile. Symphony just raised an eyebrow and drew the covers closer. “Oh! Oh, no, I don’t mean it like that. I would never! Er, I mean, you’re in my room, in my house in Canterlot. I thought it would be more comfortable that just dumping you on the couch.”
Symphony relaxed a little, but she still held the covers close. “The bed is rather nice,” she said. “How did I get here though?”
“I brought you here. Carried you all the way up from the bottom of the mountain.” Sea Swirl stuck her chest out a little as she spoke and smiled even more. 
“Why?”
Sea Swirl’s chest instantly deflated and the smile fell from her face. “Um…because? I wasn’t about to just leave you to drown.”
Symphony hung her head and pulled the covers even tighter. Her ears drooped lower than Sea Swirl had ever seen on a pony. Sea Swirl wanted to reach out and hug her, but the way Symphony was acting caused her to stop. 
“So…” Sea Swirl stood in the bedroom and gently kicked the floor. Symphony continued to look down at the covers, but her eyes occasionally glanced up at the Unicorn. When their gazes met, both of them quickly looked away, but they soon found themselves glancing at one another again. 
“Thank you for saving me,” Symphony whispered finally.
“No problem!” Sea Swirl replied, happy to finally have an excuse to talk again. “I bet you’re hungry, right?”
“I suppose…”
“Great! I made dinner. It’s in the kitchen. I’ll give you a few minutes to collect yourself and then we can eat.” Sea Swirl turned to leave, never taking her eyes off of Symphony, and thus didn’t look where she was going. She stepped right on the spilt pearls and lost her balance. She crashed into the chest of drawers again and then hit the floor, her head throbbing from the impact.
“Are you okay?” Symphony asked, with what Sea Swirl thought was genuine concern.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good,” the Unicorn said as she rubbed her head and carefully picked herself up. “Just give me a second to clean these up.” She used her magic to gather the white stones and placed them all back into the bowl, trying not to look at Symphony as she did. She feared she wasn’t making a very good first impression. 
“Those are…very pretty,” Symphony said. 
“Yeah…they look better when they’re not scattered all over the floor.” Sea Swirl walked out the door and turned around with a smile. “Well, dinner’s ready whenever you want. Better hurry though. The soup tastes better when it’s warm.” With that, she closed the door and practically skipped down the hallway to the kitchen. 
Okay, so maybe not the best way in introduce myself, but she doesn’t seem to mind, she thought as she took her spot at the table. She suddenly wished she had chairs instead of just sitting on the floor, but she had never needed them. She hoped Symphony wouldn’t mind. Hopefully she wasn’t used to having a comfortable plush cushion under her while she ate. 
Sea Swirl sat at the table and did her best not to stare down the hallway. The soup in front of her was starting to cool to just the right temperature and its aroma was making her stomach growl. She looked down at the bowl and licked her lips. Saving Symphony, carrying her, and making dinner had made her terribly hungry. She didn’t want to be rude and start eating without the Earth pony, but maybe she could have just a little bite while she waited.
Sea Swirl levitated a spoon full of soup to her mouth, blew on it once, and then put it in her mouth. The flavors flooded her mouth and she closed her eyes. The soup was delicious, and it was just warm enough to be tasty but not burn her tongue. She chewed a piece of carrot slowly, relishing each bite until she swallowed it and pulled the spoon from her mouth. Symphony was surely going to love it.
“Taste good?”
Sea Swirl’s raspberry-shaded eyes snapped open and she froze. Symphony was sitting at the other end of the table, her eyes locked on her without a hint of a smile on her face. 
“Um…yeah,” Sea Swirl said, swallowing again and quickly putting the spoon back on the table. “So good that I couldn’t wait any more. Sorry about that. Why don’t you give it a try?”
Symphony eyed Sea Swirl and then glanced down at the bowl in front of her. She sniffed it once. “What is it?”
“Just vegetable soup,” Sea Swirl said. “Sorry if you’re used to eating fancier food. I…um, didn’t have anything else to make on such sort notice. But I promise it’s good!” 
“Very well.” Symphony elegantly lifted the bowl with her front hooves. She brought it to her mouth and took a small sip, and then placed the bowl back on the table. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her lips and then placed it on her lap. 
“Well? It’s good, right?” Sea Swirl asked as she leaned forward. She had suddenly forgotten all about how hungry she was. All she cared about was whether or not her guest liked her cooking. 
“It is…different,” Symphony said after a moment of silence. 
“Oh…” Sea Swirl replied. Her ears fell and she sat back down and stared at the bowl in front of her.
“I did not say it was bad,” Symphony replied. Sea Swirl looked up to see her raising the bowl to her lips again. She tilted it forward and drained the contents into her mouth. When she placed it back on the table, the bowl was half empty. 
“Glad to hear it!” Sea Swirl said, the smile returning to her face. She reached out with her magic to grab her spoon again, but then she caught Symphony looking at her. She wasn’t certain, but she thought she saw some sort of hostility in the blue eyes. 
Sea Swirl suddenly felt very silly. Symphony was an Earth pony. She probably wasn’t very good at using silverware, and watching Sea Swirl use her magic was probably making her feel uncomfortable.  So Sea Swirl reached out with her hooves and lifted her bowl to her mouth. She drank the soup the same way Symphony had, allowing the broth and vegetables to fall into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed, and then put her bowl back on the table. 
“There’s plenty more if you want,” she said nervously. She hoped she hadn’t offended her guest. 
“Yes please,” Symphony said. “It is rather delicious.”
“You got it!” Sea Swirl grabbed the soup pot with her magic and levitated it over to the Earth pony. She pulled the lid off and poured more of the soup into the bowl, and then returned the pot to its hotplate in the middle of the table. Then she realized that she wanted seconds as well and quickly refilled her own bowl. 
The two ponies ate in relative silence for a while. Symphony would occasionally take small sips from her bowl, no longer lifting it to her mouth, while Sea Swirl tried her best not to stare at her. Finally, she could take it no longer. She took a long drink from her milk and then looked the Earth pony straight in the eye. 
So who tried to kill you? 
“So…you like music?” Sea Swirl wanted to smack herself in the face for asking such a stupid question. 
“Why do you ask?” Symphony asked as she too took a small sip from her glass of milk. Sea Swirl smiled slightly when she saw the mare’s expression soften at the taste.
“Your cutie mark,” she said. “It’s some sort of music note, isn’t it?”
“It is a quaver.”
“Um…a what?”
Symphony sighed and rolled her eyes once. “An eighth note.”
“Oh,” Sea Swirl said. “Sorry, I don’t know much about music. But I like to listen to it. Do you play anything?”
“No.”
“Oh.” Sea Swirl wanted to ask why Symphony had a cutie mark for music if she didn’t play anything, but the way the mare had answered the question implied she didn’t want to talk about it. 
“Do you like animals?” Symphony asked after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
“Yeah,” Sea Swirl replied. “I mean, I don’t have a pet or anything, but I don’t mind them.”
“Oh. I thought, with your cutie mark…”
Sea Swirl looked at the two dolphins on her flank. “This? Naw. I got this because of how much time I spend in the water. I swear, sometimes I think I have some Sea pony blood in my veins.”
“Have you ever been to the ocean?” Symphony’s eyes glistened with the question and for the first time, Sea Swirl felt comfortable talking to her. 
“Yeah, lots of times,” she said. “I love going to the ocean. Nothing but water as far as the eye can see. And the water is so clear too! It’s not like the lakes in Equestria, where it can get kind of muddy and murky. And the coral reefs are unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s really amazing.” Sea Swirl sighed and looked up at the ceiling. 
“I have never been to the ocean,” Symphony replied quietly. 
“I was thinking of going this weekend actually,” Sea Swirl said as she looked down from the ceiling. “Do you want to come along? It can be just the two of us.”
“Excuse me?” Symphony raised an eyebrow as she stared across the table. 
“Um, I didn’t mean it like that,” Sea Swirl said, waving her hooves and shaking her head frantically. “I meant that it’s really nice, and there are places where there wouldn’t be a single other pony around. It’s nice and peaceful, just sitting and listening to the waves slowly lapping on the shore. I think you’d like it.”
“No thank you,” Symphony said. “I…can’t swim.”
“I can teach you,” Sea Swirl said. “I mean, if you want to learn. If you don’t, you don’t have to go swimming. It’s fun just to walk along the shore and chase the waves. Plus, I’ll be right there beside you, so you wouldn’t have anything to worry about.”
“I see,” Symphony said. In the dim candlelight, Sea Swirl couldn’t tell if the mare was sad or angry, but she got the sense that she had said something wrong. Again. 
The two mares finished their dinner in silence. Sea Swirl struggled for something to say that wasn’t impolite, but all she could think of now were questions that she doubted Symphony wanted to answer. In fact, she got the feeling that Symphony didn’t want to talk at all, judging by the way she kept avoiding eye contact and refusing to smile. 
“Thank you for the meal,” the Earth pony said after a while. She stood and turned to leave the kitchen. “It was quite acceptable.”
“Um, thanks,” Sea Swirl said. She too stood and followed Symphony out into the living room. “W-Where are you going?”
Symphony stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Home. It is rather late.”
“Oh,” Sea Swirl said. “I…I thought…I mean, are you sure?”
Symphony turned around and now Sea Swirl was certain she had said something wrong. The mare had a scowl on her face so fierce that the Unicorn took a half step back. 
“Why would I not be sure?” she demanded. “Did you think I was going to stay here? With you?”
“No!” Sea Swirl said. “I-I mean, you’re welcome to, b-but I wouldn’t force you.”
“Then I shall take my leave.” Symphony turned to the door and moved to open it.
“Can I at least walk you home?” Sea Swirl pleaded. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt or something.”
Symphony again turned around and her scowl had worsened. “What? You think that just because I’m a Earth pony that I can’t take care of myself? That I need some Unicorn to look after me?”
“N-No, I don’t—”
“Well, I’ll have you know that I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you. I’ve done just fine without a Unicorn’s help my entire life.”
“But what if they come after you again?” Sea Swirl blurted out without thinking. She instantly covered her mouth with her hoof, but it was too late.
Symphony froze and blinked slowly. “What are you talking about?”
“The…the ponies that attacked you,” Sea Swirl said quietly. “The ones that gave you that bruise. And threw you off of the cliff. I thought you could stay here until—”
Symphony grinned, but there was no humor in the expression. It was ice cold, a look that Sea Swirl believed she probably practiced. It was so chilling that the Unicorn instantly stopped talking and swallowed the rest of her words.
“So now the truth comes out,” Symphony said darkly. “Is that what you thought would happen? That just because you saved my life that I’d…sleep with you?”
“No, I—”
“Please,” Symphony sneered. “The signs were obvious. Putting me in your bed. The candlelight dinner. Not wanting me to leave. Offering to walk me home. Being nice to me. I mean, how desperate are you? It’s actually rather pathetic. As if I’d ever sleep with a pony like you. I have plenty of stallions begging to sleep with me. Why would I ever choose you? You’re just a no-name Unicorn. You know, I was wondering why you took me to your home instead of, you know, a hospital. I thought maybe you were just stupid, but it turns out you’re something much worse.”
With that, Symphony turned and stormed out the door without so much as a look back. Sea Swirl stood in the doorway and watched her go, too shocked and hurt to say anything. It wasn’t until she realized that tears were falling from her eyes that she found the will to move, and by then Symphony had long since vanished into the night. 
Sea Swirl turned and slowly closed the door. She locked it and then went to the kitchen. She took one look at the dishes that were still on the table, but she didn’t have any desire to touch them. She blew out the candles—Why did I think those were a good idea?—and then made her way to her bedroom. She climbed into the bed, painfully aware of the lingering warmth, and curled up into a ball.
“I was just trying to be nice,” she whispered as she clutched her tail between her forelegs and allowed the tears to fall from her eyes. 


*                                                  *                                                  *


Symphony tried to stay mad, tried to keep her stomping pace through Canterlot, but she only made it to the end of the block. There, she stopped and looked over her shoulder.
Sea Swirl’s home was located in one of the nicest areas of Canterlot. The bed Symphony had woken up in was the nicest she had slept in in years. The soup, while clearly not fit to be served in fancy restaurants, had been delicious nonetheless. And the Unicorn had even gone out of her way to eat it the same way as her. 
Symphony wanted to go back. Sea Swirl had seemed genuinely nice, even if she was a Unicorn. No, especially for a Unicorn. She had gone out of her way to not only take care of Symphony, but had also saved her life.
“Tch. Too bad all she wanted was to…” Symphony let the sentence trail off before she even finished. She knew what she had said wasn’t true. She wasn’t even sure anymore why she had said it. She had just been so mad at the time, and so scared. She had been certain that Sea Swirl was plotting something, and waiting for the trap to spring had been torture for the Earth pony. 
Symphony took a half step back toward Sea Swirl’s house, but she stopped. “She probably hates me now,” she whispered as she hung her head. Of course Sea Swirl hated her now. Anypony would hate her after she repaid such kindness the way she had. Sea Swirl was just another name on an already long list now.
“Well, fine,” Symphony said as she stomped her hoof and turned away from the Unicorn’s nice house. “Like I care if she hates me. I don’t need her. I don’t care what she thinks about me. She’s just like all those other Unicorns.”
Symphony walked through the quiet streets of Canterlot, grumbling about how unfair her life was. She tried not to notice as the streets became slightly less glamorous and buildings didn’t shine quite as brightly. She knew she was entering the lesser section of Canterlot. She didn’t need the reminders. 
Symphony reached her apartment complex and walked to her door. She saw a note attached to it, but she didn’t bother reading it. She pulled it down with her teeth and walked inside, tossing the paper on top of the other notices. 
“Sea Swirl could probably pay for all of those easily,” she sneered, but then her expression softened. Sea Swirl could probably not only pay, but she probably would too, without a second thought. 
Symphony briefly thought about it, but she shoved the idea aside. She didn’t need that Unicorn’s sympathy. She had made it this far in Canterlot by herself. No hoofouts, no charity cases, no connections, and no friends. She hadn’t even gotten help from her parents, not that they would have offered it. She wasn’t about to put herself in the debt of somepony, especially some rich, snooty Unicorn. 
Symphony walked into her small bedroom and collapsed on her bed. It wasn’t as comfortable as Sea Swirl’s. In fact, it wasn’t comfortable at all. The mattress was old and worn and the covers and blankets were made of cheap material. She tried to rest her head on her pillow, but the thing was so lumpy. 
Frustrated, she slammed her face down on the pillow in an attempt to flatten it out and winced. She gently put her hoof to her face and touched the bruise there. Sea Swirl had thought that some pony had attacked her and thrown her off the cliff, but the Unicorn had only been half right. That stupid marefriend of Fiddlesticks had punched her, yes, but no pony had thrown her off of the cliff. 
“Stupid Sea Swirl,” Symphony mumbled as she drifted off to a restless sleep. “I didn’t ask her to save me…”
	
> Schemes and Plans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Symphony’s crystal cerulean eyes slowly fluttered open. She instantly tried to close them again and go back to sleep, where her problems left her alone, but it was too late. She let out a heavy sigh and sat up in her bed. Instantly her body reminded her that her mattress was the worst possible thing to sleep on in all of Canterlot. 
Groaning, the yellow Earth pony rolled out of her bed and stood in her tiny room. It wasn’t the happiest place ever, that was for sure. The walls were discolored and cracks were beginning to line the ceiling. Her landlord would no doubt blame that on her and force her to pay for it. Her one window, which had a huge crack in it, was covered not by blinds, but by an extra sheet. She had used pushpins to hold the thing up, because she knew that if she tried to use actual nails, she would get in trouble. 
But the room was clean. There was no trash and no clutter. Symphony wasn’t a slob, and besides, she lived in Canterlot. Even if it wasn’t the best part of the city, it was still the city of the elite. As such, she took pride in her living space, even if the space was less than ideal. 
Symphony made her bed, doing her best to smooth out the blankets on the lumpy mattress, but she eventually gave up on that. She just tucked the corners down, fluffed her horrible pillow once, and then left her room and walked into the the living room. 
That room was several steps up from her bedroom, but it was still the bottom of the barrel. The walls weren’t discolored, but there were signs of cracks running along the ceiling. She had actually managed to find real curtains to hang over her main window, because the thought of other ponies seeing a bed sheet from the outside terrified her to no end. She had even managed to secure a sofa, although it was used and one of the cushions was so worn that it couldn’t really be called a cushion anymore. And she had had to use a small piece of wood to balance out the uneven leg. She had planned to get that repaired when her big chance finally came, but it looked like she was going to have to wait. Again. 
Symphony turned and walked into her kitchen. It was nearly spotless too, with no dirty dishes in the sink and the counter was completely free of any sort of mess. There were no dried food scraps or stains, but the kitchen still looked shabby. The sink had a small leak near the nobs to turn the water on and as such, an annoying water ring had formed around them despite her best efforts. The faucet had warped over the years too, so that it was no longer flush with the sink. There was a small opening at its base, and despite her best efforts, Symphony had never been able to fully seal the thing. But at least the water that came out was clean and clear. 
The Earth pony walked over to her refrigerator and opened it. Its barren shelves greeted her. She had two apples left, a few pieces of celery, and less than half a gallon of milk. She was going to need to go shopping again soon. She tried to push the thought that she was down to her last few bits out of her mind as she pulled the milk out and closed the door. 
She placed the milk on her table and then pulled out a bowl. She filled it full of plain oats and wheat cereal and then carefully rationed her milk into the bowl. She poured just enough to soak her breakfast and then returned the milk to the refrigerator. She returned to the table and sat down to eat. 
As she sat there, Symphony remembered the previous night when she had shared soup with Sea Swirl. The Unicorn had started to use a spoon, but she had refrained for Symphony’s sake. Symphony scowled at the memory. How rude of Sea Swirl, reminding her of a Unicorn’s superiority. And then she had had the nerve to pretend like she was being polite by not using a spoon. 
Symphony scowled even more. She knew how to use a spoon. She was using one right now to eat her cereal. It was just made with a bigger bend in the handle so an Earth pony could use it. It almost looked like a ladle because of the handle. 
She finished her meal and took the bowl to the sink. She washed it, trying to ignore the pooling water around the faucet as she turned the water on, and then dried the bowl and put it back in her cupboard next to her three plates and two glasses. 
With her belly full, she walked back down her small hallway and into the tiny bathroom. She brushed her teeth and then brushed her luscious, wavy purple mane. She then turned her attention to her tail and brushed it too, and then looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was perfect and her yellow coat was glistening like it always did. She considered applying a touch of eye makeup, but then she saw her face.
A dark purple bruise was on her left cheek. Carefully, she reached up and touched it. She winced slightly. It was still tender. Of course, it had been an Earth pony that had hit her, so it wasn’t surprising that it hadn’t fully healed yet. 
“Stupid…what was her name?” Symphony said bitterly as she tried to recall the mare’s name. “Beauty Bass?” Symphony shrugged it off. She didn’t care what that mare’s name was. She didn’t need to know it because she wasn’t important. She was dating Fiddlesticks, after all. And any pony that was involved with Fiddlesticks was clearly not a pony of any importance. 
Except…Fiddlesticks was Octavia Melody’s cousin. And Octavia was a pony of importance. 
Symphony shook the thought away. None of that mattered right now. All that mattered was finding some way to cover up the bruise. The last thing she wanted was ponies asking her if she was okay out of some false sense of sympathy. She settled, rather reluctantly, on draping her mane partly over her face. It took some doing, but in the end the purple color of her mane managed to hide the bruise fairly well. 
As satisfied as she was going to get with her new mane style, Symphony left the bathroom and walked back into her living room. Without thinking, she walked up to the small end table by her front door and reached down for her bowtie. When her hoof touched nothing but the smooth top of the table, she looked down in confusion. Sure enough, the end table was empty. But then where was her bowtie? She always put it right there whenever she—
The memory came flooding back like a rush of cold water. She was standing on the cliff, staring down at the water far below. Her bowtie was resting in her hoof. She slowly dropped it off the cliff, and then…
“Great,” Symphony said as she hung her head. The only thing she owned that made her feel like she belonged in Canterlot, that allowed her to mingle in the crowds and present herself to other ponies, and she had dropped it off of a cliff. It was probably long gone now, either torn to shreds in the raging waterfall, or carried far away by some breeze. Now she was going to look like some bed-head with no class. 
Sighing, Symphony shook her head and collected her saddlebag. There was nothing she could do about it now. Maybe, if she stretched her bits, she could manage to buy another, but right now the most important thing she needed was food. She opened the front door and walked out into the morning sun. She quickly looked around and, seeing that there was no pony around, she began to make her way out of the apartment complex. 
Symphony had almost reached the street when she heard the familiar huff behind her. She flinched and froze, too embarrassed to turn around. 
“Did you think changing your hairstyle would allow you to sneak out?”
“No, of course not,” Symphony said. She took a deep breath and turned around, holding her head up as high as she could. “It’s not like I changed my cutie mark or something. I’m just…trying something new.”
“Symphony, you’re two months late on your rent,” her landlord, Complex, said. He was a rather burly Earth pony, with a short brown mane and a dusty red coat. And two very disapproving purple eyes.  
“I know,” she replied. “I’m sorry. Things have been…rough, recently.”
“Look, Symphony, I’ve given you enough breaks,” Complex said. His gaze softened for a moment, but then his face darkened again and he shook his head. “You have until the end of the week and then I’m kicking you out. Full payment, up front. No extensions, no excuses. Either have the money, or I kick you out. Understand?”
Symphony couldn’t help it. She lowered her head slightly, but she instantly snapped it back up. She didn’t want to look like she was trying to garner sympathy from Complex. She’d find her own way to get that money. “Yes. I understand.”
“Good.” Complex turned and walked away, but then he looked over his shoulder. “Um…have a nice day.”
Symphony didn’t dignify his false compassion with a response. She just turned around and continued to leave the apartment complex. She reached the sidewalk and turned toward the main marketplace. As she walked, her mind began to frantically try and come up with a plan. 
All the bits to her name were currently in her saddlebag. She had enough to buy maybe three days of food if she stretched it, but the amount didn’t even begin to cover her rent. Normally, she would simply find a small little restaurant and offer to play her violin in exchange for tips, and if that didn’t work, she would just stand on a street corner playing. She almost always brought in enough money that way to keep herself afloat, but that was no longer an option. That stupid country pony, Fiddlesticks, had her violin because of a mix up at a recent talent show. There was no way Symphony was going to go ask for it back. She wouldn’t come crawling to that stupid mare. 
Besides, she had smashed Fiddlesticks’ in a fit a rage, so she doubted the country bumpkin would give Symphony’s back. 
Asking her parents for money was out of the question. She wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of seeing her in such a tight spot. She would sooner starve to death on the streets, or resort to begging from total strangers, or even throw herself off of the Canterlot cliffs again before crawling back to them. Of course, if stupid Sea Swirl hadn’t interfered, she wouldn’t even be in this—
Sea Swirl. Symphony’s mind stuck on the name for a moment, and she felt the beginnings of an idea taking root. It started with the thought that had crossed her mind last night. Sea Swirl was clearly well off. She could easily pay for Symphony’s rent. It would probably just be a drop in the bucket for a Unicorn as rich as she was. But Symphony wasn’t about to go up to her and ask her for money. She wasn’t going to let Sea Swirl get the better of her like that. She wasn’t going to bow down to any Unicorn, but then how was she going to get the money she needed? 
“Well, she did try to sleep with me,” Symphony whispered. She knew it wasn’t true, but she couldn’t help but give voice to the thought. And when she did, she latched onto it like a drowning pony grasping a branch. “That’s right! She did, didn’t she? For all I know, she…she might have…” 
Symphony shuddered and chased the thought away. No, Sea Swirl wasn’t like that. She couldn’t be. But she had tried to get sex from Symphony, and that was pretty low. Yeah, that was it. How dare Sea Swirl try to exploit her like that? She would make the Unicorn apologize for such rude behavior. She would demand one or two of those pearls that she had had in her bedroom as compensation for Sea Swirl thinking Symphony was some two-bit street mare. And then, she would have enough to cover her rent and probably enough left over to pay for a new violin. 
Symphony grinned to herself. Her plan was perfect. Sure it was a bit mean spirited, but that was the way in Canterlot. Ponies stepped on one another on their way to the top. It was all about which ponies you knew and how you used them. Sea Swirl was surely familiar with the game, and besides, it wasn’t like Symphony was going to ruin her business. The Unicorn clearly had the money to spare. 
Still, Symphony couldn’t help but feel a little bad about what she was going to do. Sea Swirl had seemed like a genuine nice pony. Maybe she really would just give Symphony the bits and not even ask for repayment or lord it over her.
“No,” Symphony said firmly, shaking her head once. This was the way it worked. She would use Sea Swirl to pull herself up, and then she would move on. “And once I’m the most famous musician in Canterlot, then…” Symphony stopped in her walk and blinked twice. “Then…I’ll pay her back. Yes, of course. It would do wonders for my reputation. Everypony would see what a gracious pony I am, remembering some no-name who helped me when I was down on my luck.” 
Symphony had no idea why she was suddenly trying to assuage her guilt, but she didn’t dwell on it for too long. Instead, she smiled to herself and resumed walking down the streets of Canterlot, heading for Sea Swirl’s home. She was grateful that she had paid attention to her surroundings the previous night because she could easily remember where the Unicorn’s home was. 
Symphony started humming to herself as she walked. Things were finally starting to look for her. All she had to do was get her hooves on one of those pearls from Sea Swirl and—
“Can you believe the nerve of her?” a contempt-filled voice asked. 
“Oh, I know. How she has managed to stay in business with such poor standards is beyond me,” another voice said.
Symphony turned a corner and arrived at Sea Swirl’s house, but she stopped before she reached it. Two Unicorns were standing outside of Sea Swirl’s home, and they looked rather annoyed. They also looked like the typical Canterlot Unicorn: noses upturned, dressed in gaudy clothes, and radiating an air of superiority that Symphony hated. She was about to turn and walk away, but the mare turned and spotted her. 
“Good morning, dear,” the mare said. “Are you here to see that pesky jewel dealer too?”
“Um, I don’t—”
“I’m sorry,” the stallion added, “but she’s run off. Rather rude of her, wouldn’t you say?”
Symphony blinked. Run off? Oh no. Had Sea Swirl left the city? If that was the case, then Symphony was in serious trouble.  “Did she say where she went?” she asked tentatively. 
The yellow Unicorn flipped her purple and white mane with her front hoof. “Please. As if I could be bothered remembering every little detail about that Unicorn’s schedule. Not that her schedule matters much, seeing as she promised that my necklace would be ready today.”
The stallion rocked his grey head briefly and used his magic to adjust the glasses he wore on his face. Symphony found the gesture extremely annoying. “No doubt she went to gather more stones like she always does. She was supposed to do that yesterday.”
“Indeed,” the mare said with a curt nod of her head. “As I said, I don’t understand how she manages to stay in business. What type of artisan allows herself to run out of supplies?”
“Uh, thank you,” Symphony said and then quickly walked away. She needed to get away from them for her own sanity. They were the very embodiments of everything she despised about Unicorns. And how dare they talk about Sea Swirl like that! She clearly knew what she was doing if she had such a nice house and—
Symphony stopped cold. Why was she defending Sea Swirl? She didn’t care what those two said about her. She barely knew Sea Swirl herself. The words of two strangers weren’t her concern. 
Symphony pushed the concern from her mind and thought about what she knew. Sea Swirl hadn’t left Canterlot, at least not forever. She had simply gone to gather more stones, which meant that she would have to return home eventually. Symphony supposed she could just wait, but she didn’t know how long that would take. She doubted it would take several days, but if it did, she wouldn’t be able to pay her rent and Complex would kick her out. She needed to find Sea Swirl as soon as possible. 
“But where could she be?” she asked herself as she stood on the sidewalk. She went over everything she knew about Sea Swirl. She was clearly a diver, seeing as she had so many pearls in her home. Pearls mostly came from the ocean. Her heart sank as she realized that fact, because if Sea Swirl was at the ocean, there was no way she’d make it back in time.
No, calm down. She said she was going to the ocean this weekend, Symphony thought. It was still the middle of the week, so it was unlikely that Sea Swirl had gone to the ocean. So where else would she have gone to find pearls? 
Symphony’s eyes snapped open and she whipped her head up. Of course! The lake down at the bottom of the mountain. Sea Swirl had been down there yesterday because she had pulled Symphony from the water. She must have been diving for pearls or other stones in the lake. 
It was far from a sure thing, but it was the only place that Symphony could think of, so she headed for the Canterlot gates. The trip down the mountain was going to take a while, and coming all the way back up was going to be even worse, but it wasn’t like she had anything better to do for the day.  Finding Sea Swirl and getting her to give her a pearl was all that mattered at the moment. 
Symphony reached the city gates and walked out of Canterlot, paying no attention to the guards or the other ponies that were coming and going. She walked over the bridge that lead into the city and nervously looked at the water rushing underneath her. She followed it until it dropped off the edge of the cliff and then looked away with a shudder. She needed to hurry up and find Sea Swirl. 
The yellow Earth pony reached the other side of the bridge and began to follow the paved path that would eventually lead her to the bottom of the mountain, but she only made it a small way before she stopped in surprise. 
Sea Swirl was coming up the path in front of her. Her head was hung low and her two-toned purple mane was hanging in front of her eyes. She was walking rather slowly, with several ponies easily passing her on both sides with nothing more than a casual stroll. Symphony briefly wondered what was wrong with her, but then she saw that the Unicorn was pulling a cart, and it was filled to the brim with gems. How was that possible? It wasn’t even past ten in the morning. How early had she gotten up in order to gather that many so quickly? 
Symphony couldn’t help but grin with delight. If those two snobby Unicorns could see Sea Swirl now, no doubt they’d change their opinion of her. She was clearly very skilled at her business if she was able to gather so many stones and gems in such a short time. 
Sea Swirl suddenly stopped in the middle of the road and took several deep breaths before she sat down. Many ponies glared at her as they passed her, and it looked like some of them even said something to her, but the Unicorn refused to raise her head or move. She simply waved the passing ponies away with a flick of her hoof. 
Symphony took a deep breath. Now was the perfect time to confront Sea Swirl. She was clearly off balance, and with a push in the right direction, Symphony knew she could get that pearl from her. She walked up to the Unicorn and stopped directly in front of her.
“Okay…okay…” Sea Swirl said before Symphony had a chance to open her mouth. “I’ll…I’ll move…the stupid…cart. Just…give me…a second.” Sea Swirl stood but didn’t raise her head. She began to try and pull the cart off to the side of the road, but she lacked the strength to do so. Instead, she let out a small laugh and shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Um…are you okay, Sea Swirl?” Symphony asked. 
What am I doing? I don’t care about that!
Sea Swirl’s head turned to the side and a raspberry eye peeked out from under her mane. She started to lower her head again, but then she whipped it back up and both of her eyes locked on Symphony’s face. 
For a long moment, the two ponies simply stared at one another. Symphony studied Sea Swirl’s face. Her coat was covered in sweat and parts of her mane were plastered to her head because of it. She was breathing heavily through her mouth, but she quickly snapped it shut and tried breathing through her nose, making her sound like a bull getting ready to charge. Her eyes were wide, but they were having trouble holding Symphony’s gaze. They kept looking at anything but Symphony.
Finally, Sea Swirl scratched the back of her neck and looked up at the sky. “Um…hey, Symphony. Uh…what’s up?”
“Are you okay?” Symphony asked again, much to her bafflement. “You don’t seem well.” 
No! Get the pearl!
Sea Swirl forced a smile and a laugh. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little…winded.” She nodded over her shoulder. “I had to get up early today to go get these back. It’s a long walk, and a full cart of gems going uphill kind of wears me out.”
“Get them back?” Symphony asked as she looked past Sea Swirl. The cart did look rather heavy. “Did somepony try to steal them or something?”
“What? No. I left them behind yesterday when I—” Sea Swirl stopped and looked at Symphony. 
“You…left them behind when you brought me up the mountain,” Symphony said quietly. This time it was her turn to hang her head.
“Yeah,” Sea Swirl said quickly. “But, um, don’t worry about it. They’re just rocks. You’re a bit harder to replace than them.” Symphony’s ears twitched and she looked up at Sea Swirl.  “Uh, I mean, any pony is harder to replace than a stone. Not that I mean that you’re not special or anything, because you are. But, not that type of special. At least, not that type of special to me. I’m sure that you’re that type of special to some other pony though.” Sea Swirl stopped and took a deep breath. “I’m…uh, doing it again, aren’t I? Look, Symphony, honest. I wasn’t trying to…you know, with you or anything. I was just trying to be nice.”
Symphony stood still for a moment, and then she blinked. Before she realized what she was doing, the words left her mouth. “I know.”
For some reason, seeing the relief flood into Sea Swirl’s face made Symphony smile. 
“Oh, thank goodness,” Sea Swirl said. “I didn’t want you to think I was some sort of creepy pony who fillynapped random strangers just to have sex with them. Although, that might be fun.”
“Excuse me?” Symphony asked, raising one of her eyebrows.
“Uh…forget you heard that.” Sea Swirl looked back over her shoulder to hide her blushing. “Well, I better get going. Jet Set and Upper Crust are no doubt royally ticked off at me by now. Take care of yourself. And I like what you’ve done with your mane. Very exotic.”
Symphony reached up and brushed her purple mane that was covering half of her face. Sea Swirl liked her hairstyle? But it was so…undignified. “Um…thanks.” 
Sea Swirl started to pull her cart away. Symphony stepped aside and let her by. She was still running her hoof through her mane, and it wasn’t until the cart passed her that her mind suddenly remembered the whole reason she had tracked Sea Swirl down. 
“Wait!” Symphony said as she trotted to catch up. 
I have to get a pearl, otherwise…
Sea Swirl stopped and turned around. She looked utterly exhausted, but she still managed a truly warm smile. “What’s up?”
Symphony froze. Her entire plan vanished in the face of that smile. It had already started to come apart when Sea Swirl had apologized for something that she had never actually done, and now Symphony could feel the last of her resolve fading. Great. How else was she supposed to pay her rent now? Or buy a new violin? Just ask Sea Swirl? And what would Sea Swirl think of her then? Coming to see her, begging for money, after Symphony had accused her of such terrible things. She would hate her, or at the very least think she was a no good beggar who—
“Do you…want some help with that cart?” Symphony asked. 
What the hay did I just say?! 
“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Sea Swirl said with a wave of her hoof. “I do this all the time. I just didn’t get as much rest last night as I usually do, so I—”
Symphony’s eyes narrowed. “Because of me, right? If you think you’re going to make me carry that debt around, then you can forget it.”
“No, I didn’t mean—”
Symphony walked forward and pulled the harness off of Sea Swirl. “Move.”
“Symphony, really, I can handle this,” Sea Swirl said, still refusing to move so Symphony could put the harness on. “You don’t owe me—”
“You’re right, I won’t owe you anything after this,” Symphony said as she pushed the Unicorn out of the way. “You Unicorns may have your magic, but an Earth pony is still stronger in terms of physical build.” 
Symphony slipped the harness on and began to walk. The cart was a bit on the heavy side, but once she started moving, it wasn’t so bad.  She didn’t even start breathing heavily once she found her rhythm. 
Sea Swirl trotted up next to her a moment later. “Uh, Symphony, you really don’t have to—”
“I am not going to be in debt to some Unicorn,” Symphony said darkly as she put more force into pulling the cart.
“Oookay…” Sea Swirl said. She stared at Symphony with a raised eyebrow as the two of them walked over the bridge and back through the gates into Canterlot. “Anyway, I need to bring that cart to my home. It’s over by—”
“I know where it is,” Symphony said shortly. “I was there last night, remember?”
“Right,” Sea Swirl said with a smile. 
“I even walked by it this morning”
Sea Swirl grinned. “Stalking me, hm?” Symphony shot her a look and the grinned vanished. “Uh, right. Sorry. Bad joke.”
“If there were any ponies stalking you, I would say they were the two Unicorns that were waiting outside your door when I walked by.”
Sea Swirl visibly flinched and closed her eyes. She opened one half way and looked at Symphony. “Um…they weren’t…grey and yellow, were they?”
“They were.”
Sea Swirl’s shoulders shank and she hung her head. “Great. Listening to those two this early in the morning is the last thing I need.”
Symphony remained silent for a long moment as the two of them walked down the street. They turned a corner and started heading down the block that would eventually link up with the Unicorn’s home. 
Symphony could understand why Sea Swirl was rather annoyed. She herself had only spent a few moments in the company of those two and her patience had been tested. “How long do you need to finish their order?”
“Oh, it was supposed to be done yesterday,” Sea Swirl said, raising her head to look at Symphony. “I’m pretty much done with it. I just need to string the pearls together and set the middle one. I was actually looking for a large one yesterday, but I, uh…got a little side tracked.”
Symphony’s ears fell and she looked at the ground. “Sorry.”
“What? No, no it’s not your fault!” Sea Swirl said quickly. “I actually wasn’t even supposed to be down there. I just thought Upper Crust would prefer a bigger pearl in the center, so I went to look for one. Good thing I did though, huh?” The Unicorn nudged Symphony slightly and smiled. 
Great. My plan was ruined by random chance, Symphony thought. “Yes, I suppose…”
“You suppose?” Sea Swirl asked. She stopped and looked directly at Symphony. Symphony stopped as well, grateful for the pause. Pulling the cart was a bit harder than she had expected. “What? Are you saying you wanted those ponies to throw you off the cliff?”
“What makes you think anypony threw me off that cliff?” Symphony asked sharply. 
“That bruise on your cheek,” Sea Swirl said. She pointed with her hoof at the cheek that was covered by Symphony’s purple mane. “Unless you’re telling me that you fell off on purpose…?”
And what if I did, huh? What if I was so sick of being a failure at everything, at life always spitting in my face, of all my dreams being shattered every step of the way? What then, you stupid Unicorn?
“Somepony…hit me,” Symphony said as she lowered her head and rubbed her cheek. She didn’t know why she was afraid to tell Sea Swirl what she really thought. Come to think of it, she didn’t know why she was still pulling her stupid cart. She didn’t know why she was even still talking to Sea Swirl. She should have left right when her plan had fallen apart. 
“Well, if I ever meet that pony, she’ll regret it,” Sea Swirl said. Symphony looked up to see the Unicorn once again smiling at her. 
“Why?” Symphony asked.
“Because you seem like a nice pony, and whoever hit you was a jerk,” Sea Swirl replied. Her smile vanished and her eyes narrowed. “Plus, they did try to kill you. In fact, maybe we should go to the guards.” Sea Swirl stopped and began to turn around. “Yeah. I don’t know why I didn’t do that in the first place. Come on. I’m sure they—”
“No!” Symphony said quickly. If they went to the guards, Sea Swirl would find out the truth, and that suddenly bothered Symphony. 
“But they might come after you again!” Sea Swirl protested. “We can’t just—”
“Just leave it alone!” Symphony shouted as she stomped her hoof. Sea Swirl recoiled slightly and several nearby ponies looked at the two of them. “I mean, why do you care? It’s over, and…they won’t be back.”
Sea Swirl opened her mouth but closed it almost immediately. She bit her lower lip a few times and then slowly turned back toward her home. “Okay,” she said. “But if you ever need help, you let me know.”
Symphony was about to tell her to mind her own business, but a torturous voice cut through the air. 
“Finally,” Upper Crust said. Symphony froze and looked ahead. The Unicorn couple she had seen earlier was walking down the street toward her and Sea Swirl, and they were both wearing obnoxious facial expressions. “Honestly, Sea Swirl. I should refuse to pay you for being so late.”
“Indeed,” the stallion said in a huffy voice. “The nerve. If anything, we should demand compensation.”
“Make all the demands you want, Jet Set,” Sea Swirl replied. “It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”
Symphony’s mouth fell open slightly and her eyes widened. Had Sea Swirl just done that? Was she even allowed to do that?
“Hmph!” Upper Crust replied with a raised chin. She looked down her muzzle with judging eyes at Symphony. “Hm…I remember you. You were at this pony’s residence earlier today. Ha! Don’t tell me she was late because of you!”
“What?” Symphony asked darkly. She could feel her anger beginning to bubble under her fur. 
“Bad show, Sea Swirl,” Jet Set said as he, too, looked over Symphony. “If you are going to hire an Earth pony to pull your cart, perhaps you should hire one that actually shows up on time.”
Symphony opened her mouth to shout at the couple, and she was fairly certain that if she wasn’t hitched to the cart, she would have jumped on Jet Set, but Sea Swirl stepped in front of her. 
“You’re right, my mistake,” the Unicorn said. 
What? Symphony felt like she had just been punched in the stomach. Worse, she didn’t like that fact that Sea Swirl’s words made her feel that way. 
“I went down to collect more stones this morning and I got a little carried away, as you can see.” The Unicorn nodded to the cart that Symphony was still attached to. “I hadn’t meant to get this many, so I had to call for help. Thankfully, I ran into a Pegasus. He flew back up to Canterlot and found Symphony here. If not for her help, I’d still be down at the lake trying to pull this cart up the mountain. And you would still be waiting for me.”
That wasn’t true. Sea Swirl had been just outside the city gates when Symphony had found her. What in Equestria was she doing? And more importantly, how dare she pass Symphony off as some common moving pony? 
It’s more than I’m doing now, she thought bitterly. 
“You don’t say,” Jet Set replied. “But…the trip down the mountain on hoof takes…well, I imagine it takes some time. Not that we would ever know. Right dear?”
“Indeed,” Upper Crust replied. “And we saw Symphony here not more than half an hour ago. That is…a rather impressive record.”
Sea Swirl put her hoof around Symphony’s neck in a half hug. “Yep. That’s why I sent for her. She’s the best. But, her rates aren’t cheap. Speaking of which.” Sea Swirl turned to the cart that Symphony had been pulling and rummaged around for a moment until she found what she was looking for. “I think this should cover it. Right, Symphony?”
“Y-Yes…” Symphony said, unable to think of anything else to say. Sea Swirl was levitating a large, milky white pearl in front of her. It was at least twice the size of the ones Symphony had seen in the Unicorn’s room the other night. With that, she could easily pay her rent. 
“Great,” Sea Swirl said as she casually tossed it back into the cart. “Now we better get moving. These two customers of mine are expecting their order, and I’m afraid my foolishness has caused them enough of a delay.”
Sea Swirl casually walked past Jet Set and Upper Crust. Symphony, after finally managing to look away from the cart where Sea Swirl had tossed the pearl, began to follow her. She noticed that Upper Crust kept looking at her and then at the cart with shocked eyes. Symphony pretended not to notice, but as she walked past them, she couldn’t help but let a small smirk come to her lips. 
The two ponies reached Sea Swirl’s home and the Unicorn went inside. Symphony stood at the door, wondering what she was supposed to do, until Sea Swirl’s head popped back out. “Are you coming, or did your service end once we got to my doorstep?” 
“But…where shall I put the cart?”
Sea Swirl laughed. “Just put it in the living room. I’m going to have to do some work, and it’s easier when all the supplies are in the same place.” 
Symphony nodded and brought the cart into the plush house. Once again, she was immediately struck with jealousy as she looked around Sea Swirl’s home. No cracks in the walls or ceilings, beautiful curtains, comfortable furniture, and countless other things that Symphony dreamed of owning one day. 
“Thanks for you help, Symphony,” Sea Swirl said from the kitchen. Symphony unhooked herself from the cart and stood next to it, eyeing the pearl that Sea Swirl had picked out. The Unicorn had to have been joking, right? There was no way she would just give something like that to her. “Are you thirsty? Pulling that cart can be a pain, I know.”
“Yes, please,” Symphony replied, still not taking her eyes off of the pearl. Slowly, she raised her hoof toward it. Sea Swirl had said she could have it, after all.
“Water? Milk? Pop?” Sea Swirl asked. Symphony could hear the sound of clinking glasses from around the corner. 
“Water.”
“Coming right up. Ice?”
Symphony touched the pearl. It was so smooth. Slowly, she picked it up and held it in front of her eyes. It was beautiful with its shade of white and perfect sphere. 
“Yeah, that one’s a rare find,” Sea Swirl said. Symphony jumped and quickly put the pearl back in the cart. “Especially around here. Usually, I have to dive into the ocean to find one like that.” She was levitating two glasses. She moved Symphony’s over to her and the Earth pony took it.
“It is beautiful,” Symphony said as she took a drink. The water rushed down her throat and she suddenly realized how thirsty she was. She quickly took another, longer drink. 
“Well, it’s yours now,” Sea Swirl said. She took a long gulp of her own drink and them smacked her lips together. “Ah, I love milk.”
“You…you mean it?” Symphony asked. 
“Yeah, milk’s delicious,” Sea Swirl said. Symphony glared at her. “Oh, you meant the pearl. Yeah, take it. It’s my way of saying thanks. And sorry.”
“Sorry?” Symphony asked. Had Sea Swirl figured out her guilt plan? No, that wasn’t possible. Symphony had never acted on it, and Sea Swirl had already apologized. 
“Yeah,” Sea Swirl said. “Those two are a huge pain to deal with. Always trying to one-up every pony they meet. They pissed me off when they spoke about you like that. So, I decided to hit them where it hurts. That pearl was supposed to be the center for Upper Crust’s necklace, but I think you’ll get more use out of it.”
Part of Symphony’s mind snapped at the remark. How dare Sea Swirl patronize her like that. What, did she think that Symphony couldn’t take care of herself? 
But Symphony quickly squashed the thought. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed the money and Sea Swirl had literally just given it to her. There was nothing to be gained, and everything to lose, if she didn’t swallow her pride. She could take this hoofout from Sea Swirl. It wasn’t even a hoofout, not really. Sea Swirl didn’t know about Symphony’s current situation. She was just doing this to be nice.
Plus, Symphony had pulled her cart.
“Thank you,” Symphony whispered. She looked at the pearl closely. It was rather beautiful. She almost felt bad that she was going to sell it the first chance she got, but she had no choice. She put it in her saddlebag and looked around Sea Swirl’s home as she took another drink of water. 
“Well, you probably have places to be,” Sea Swirl said as she stared at Symphony. “I’ve kept you long enough, I’m sure, and I doubt you want to sit around here and watch me work.”
“Oh,” Symphony said and she turned to the door. 
“I mean, you can stick around if you want,” Sea Swirl added hastily. “But it’s kind of boring to sit and watch. Plus, you’ll probably have to deal with those two again.”
“No, you’re right,” Symphony said as she reached the door. “I do have a few things to take care of. Thank you again for the pearl.” The Earth pony opened the door and walked out onto the sidewalk. 
“Hey!” Symphony turned around and saw that the Unicorn was standing in the doorway. “I’m, um…still going to the ocean this weekend. Do you, uh…do you want to come with me?”
“Are you…asking me out on a date?” Symphony asked with a skeptical look. 
“What? No!” Sea Swirl said quickly. “No, of course not. I just thought you’d like to come with me. You said you’d never been before, and it really is a breathtaking sight.”
Symphony thought for a long time. There was nothing to be gained by going to the ocean with this Unicorn. She had gotten everything she needed from Sea Swirl when she had received the pearl. No, she should spend the weekend looking for a new violin, rebuilding her connections, and trying to find a surefire way to get into the upper echelons of Canterlot. Spending the weekend staring at a boring body of water wasn’t going to help her accomplish any of that. 
But then again, Sea Swirl was clearly somepony of importance in Canterlot. She had stood up to those to snobbish Unicorns without batting an eye, and her home décor implied that her business was well respected. It couldn’t hurt to be close to a pony of her stature. 
“Very well,” Symphony said. “I believe I will be free then.”
“Great!” Sea Swirl said as her ears jumped up. “You can meet Aqua! I’ll come pick you up. Where do you live?”
Symphony felt her stomach fall out. Her eyes darted about and she was actually grateful that her mane was covering half of her face. She couldn’t let Sea Swirl see where she lived. “Um…how about I come over here? After all, I’ve already been to your home twice, so there’s no worry of getting lost.”
“Okay, sounds good,” Sea Swirl said with a smile. “The train leaves the station at ten, so you should probably be here by nine-thirty.” She looked down the street and winced. “Oh great, here they come again. You better get going. See you Saturday.” 
Sea Swirl disappeared into her house and Symphony looked down the street. Sure enough, Jet Set and Upper Crust were walking toward the home. Deciding that she couldn’t stomach another encounter with the two, she turned in the opposite direction and walked away, smiling to herself as the pearl in her bag gently bounced against her side. 
	
> Ocean View
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sea Swirl’s pillow wasn’t exactly comfortable. It was a little hard, and every time she tried to adjust her head, it kept slipping off of the pillow. She pressed down a bit harder in a vain attempt to both soften the pillow and keep herself from waking up. 
It didn’t work. Slowly her mind drifted back from blissful sleep. She groaned a little and nuzzled her pillow in one last gamble to stay asleep. As she did, she noticed that the pillow was surprisingly soft to the touch. It felt like fur, and it was warm. 
The Unicorn felt something tickle the tip of her nose and she made a face. The tickling continued, so she blew a little, thinking it was just some bug trying to land on her face. When the sensation still persisted, she reached up with her hoof and waved the thing out of her face. It worked for a moment, but then the feeling came back. 
“Ugh. Stupid little—” Sea Swirl opened one eye so she could aim her strike and jumped. She flew across the small seat so quickly that her head slammed into the window on the train. The pain flushed the last of the sleep from her mind as she rubbed the back of her head. “Uh…sorry.”
Symphony stared at her, her face and eyes betraying nothing. “It’s fine.” 
“Heh…” Sea Swirl felt her cheeks blushing as she tried to maintain eye contact. “So, uh…how long was I…?”
“Using my shoulder as a pillow?” Symphony asked. Sea Swirl couldn’t tell if she was angry, or simply asking a question. 
“Er, I was going to say asleep, but…sure.”
“For about an hour.” 
Sea Swirl blinked in surprise. An hour? That meant that they were almost there. Baltimare was just a bit further. 
Sea Swirl sat up and stretched her neck. Symphony’s shoulder hadn’t really been the best pillow, but it had been comfortable in a way. Still, the Unicorn felt bad. She had meant to stay awake and talk with the mare. There was still a lot that she didn’t know about her. 
Of course, she wasn’t entirely sure if Symphony would be willing to tell her anything. The mare kept her guard up more than any other pony Sea Swirl had ever met. 
“I was afraid you weren’t going to come,” Sea Swirl said, deciding that she could at least try to break the ice. 
Symphony had met Sea Swirl at the Unicorn’s home early in the morning and the two ponies had caught the first train out of Canterlot. They hadn’t spoken much, mainly because Sea Swirl had still been tired and Symphony didn’t seem to talk much to begin with, so Sea Swirl figured now was a good time to try.
“Why?” Symphony asked. The bruise around her eye had finally faded to a faint mark, so her violet hair was up and brushed out of her face, revealing her blue eyes with stunning contrast to her soft yellow fur. 
“Well, I thought you might be busy or something,” Sea Swirl said. “Like maybe you had to work, or you just didn’t want to come along. You’re kind of stuck with me for the whole day now, and I’m not entirely sure if you’re up for that.” The Unicorn smiled with the last remark, hoping that it would be enough to make Symphony loosen up a bit. 
“That is not what I meant,” Symphony replied, completely missing—or ignoring—Sea Swirl’s joke. “Why would you be upset if I didn’t come?”
Sea Swirl blinked in surprise. “Oh. Well, uh…I’m usually by myself. It’ll be nice to have some company this time.”
“But doesn’t your friend live out here?”
“Aqua?” Sea Swirl asked, surprised Symphony remembered her. “She’s…um, different.”
“Different how?” Symphony asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. 
“You’ll see when you meet her,” Sea Swirl said. She wasn’t sure how Symphony would react if she new the truth.
“What will you be doing here? Working?” Symphony asked.
“Yeah, a little bit,” Sea Swirl replied. “Horseshoe Bay has some great diving spots, and a few underwater caves too. I’m usually able to find some pretty good stones there.”
“I see,” Symphony said with a blink. “Is that all?”
“Well, no,” Sea Swirl said, a bit shocked by the idea. “You said you’ve never been to the ocean. I’m not going to make you sit there for the whole day while I’m working. There’s plenty of other stuff to do.”
“I cannot swim,” Symphony said.
“And I offered to teach you,” Sea Swirl replied. She quickly continued when she saw the look on the Earth Pony’s face. “But, swimming isn’t the only thing to do there! There’s the boardwalk, sailing, surfing, although I’m not sure how much you’d enjoy that.”
“Not at all,” Symphony warned. 
“Didn’t think so. And then there’s just walking on the beach and listening to the ocean.”
“That sounds rather…boring, to be honest.”
Sea Swirl shot Symphony a perplexed look. “You’re joking, right? Don’t you enjoy just listening the water fountains around Canterlot, or the river and waterfall outside the city?”
“No,” Symphony said darkly. 
“Oh, right,” Sea Swirl said, remembering how they had first met. “Um, sorry. My bad.”
The two mares sat in silence until Sea Swirl began to grow uncomfortable. She didn’t want to say anything more though, because she was worried about insulting Symphony. Of course the Earth pony wouldn’t enjoy water after what she had been through. 
Sea Swirl shook her head at her lack of tact. Sometimes she wished she was more like the ponies in Canterlot. They didn’t make stupid mistakes like—
“The boardwalk sounded pleasant,” Symphony said suddenly. “What is it?”
“It’s…well, it’s a boardwalk?” Sea Swirl replied, not entirely sure how to answer the question. 
“And what is a boardwalk, exactly?”
“You’re pulling my leg, right?” Sea Swirl asked. The look on Symphony’s face said she was not. “You don’t really know? Didn’t your parents ever take you out to like a theme park or something when you were little?”
Symphony’s face darkened so fast that Sea Swirl was afraid the mare was about to throw her from the moving train. “No, they did not.” 
Okay. Parents are a touchy subject, Sea Swirl thought. 
“So a boardwalk is like an amusement park?” the Earth pony asked.
“Sort of,” Sea Swirl answered, jumping at the lifeline in the conversation. Talking to this mare was like walking through a booby-trapped temple. So many things seemed to make her angry.  “I mean, there aren’t any huge roller coaster rides or stuff like that, but there’s still a lot to do.”
“Like what?” 
Sea Swirl opened her mouth to speak, but then the train came to a stop. She smiled. “You know what? It’s better if I just show you. Come on.” 
The train came to a stop and the conductor started calling out for all ponies to disembark. Sea Swirl rose and collected her bag and Symphony did the same. The two ponies made their way to the exit with the small crowd. When they reached the exit, they stepped off of the train and the city of Baltimare filled their vision. 
Sea Swirl had never been to Manehattan, but she had often heard it said that Baltimare was a smaller version of that city. While it lacked the elegance, grandeur, and style of Canterlot, it certainly came close to it in terms of sheer size. But despite that, it still managed to retain a lot of the old charm that smaller towns like Ponyville had. None of the buildings were more than three stories tall, and even those were rare. Most of them were made of wood and since they were so close to the sea, the wood was weathered and warped in small ways, giving each building its own unique look. In fact, Sea Swirl suspected that a lot of the buildings used actual driftwood in their construction. 
The paint jobs were all done in pastel colors. There were no bright reds and vibrant purples. The weather on the coast had long ago taught the ponies here that colors faded, so they simply allowed it to happen. As a result, everything looked rustic, but in a different way than back home in Ponyville. 
And then there were the smells. As Sea Swirl stepped off of the train, the first thing she did was take a deep breath through her nose. So many familiar scents flooded into her nostrils. The salt from the nearby ocean made her heart ache. The dozens of deep fried delights from the countless boardwalk stands made her stomach grumble. The dampness that clung to everything made her fur shiver. She loved that first scent of Baltimare every time she arrived. 
“Ah, so refreshing,” she said as she let the breath out and turned to Symphony. “Don’t you think so?”
“I suppose,” Symphony said, but the look on her face said otherwise. Her eyes were scrambling over the scenery in a mad dash to find something to focus on in the busy crowds and packed buildings. Her legs were stiff and Sea Swirl suspected that her knees were on the verge of locking up. 
“Okay, first let’s go check in at the motel,” Sea Swirl said, giving the Earth pony a slight nudge. She figured she’d at least get the official stuff out of the way. It would also give Symphony a chance to adjust to the city’s sites and sounds. 
The two ponies began to walk down the city street. Or rather, Sea Swirl began to walk, but after a few steps she noticed that she was by herself. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Symphony was still standing in the same spot. The mare’s eyes were wider than Sea Swirl had ever seen and her knees had indeed locked up. Her mouth was slightly open as she stood perfectly still, drawing a few curious and amused looks from several nearby ponies. 
“Symphony, you okay?”
“Um…yes. Yes, of course.” The Earth pony shook her head and blinked several times before she finally got her legs to work again. After a few tentative steps, she managed to find her stride and walked to join Sea Swirl. 
“You’ve never been outside of Canterlot, have you?”
Symphony shot her a look, but then lowered her eyes a bit. “No. I must admit that this is all…overwhelming.”
Sea Swirl smiled and bumped her flank against Symphony’s. “Well I hope you’re ready for an adventure. Baltimare is a lot different from Canterlot.” 
Two ponies in roller skates came gliding down the street at high speed. Sea Swirl stepped aside and gently pushed Symphony to the side as well, allowing the two mares to skate by. 
“I see that,” Symphony replied as she watched the two ponies go. “Is that safe?”
“They should probably be wearing helmets.”
“Oh.” 
Sea Swirl guided Symphony down the busy street. She was careful not to lose her in the crowd, because she was pretty sure that Symphony would panic if she found herself alone. She tried to make small talk as they walked, pointing out a restaurant here or a fun store there, but the yellow pony never really said anything beyond a simple acknowledgement. Her eyes were still wide, but they had stopped rushing around so much. Sea Swirl decided that that was progress at least. 
The two ponies turned down another street, this one far less crowded than the main street, and walked a bit more until Sea Swirl stopped in front of a rustic building. It was adorned with many different seashells and a soft blue paint. Driftwood letters above the door named the place as Sea Pony’s Rest. 
“Here we are,” Sea Swirl said as she stopped and looked up at the familiar building. “Best little motel in Baltimare.”
“If you say so,” Symphony said in a dubious tone. 
The two ponies opened the door and a soft bell rang out as they entered the lobby. There were no other ponies in sight, but the lobby still felt welcoming. A tan carpet lined the floor and the walls were painted a slightly darker blue than the outside. There were dozens of bottled ships on the walls, along with other sea-fairing knickknacks all over the lobby. 
“Welcome to Sea—” came a voice from behind the counter, but it stopped when the mare reached the counter and saw the guests. “Sea Swirl! Great to see you again!”
“Hey Cove,” Sea Swirl said with a wave. “Nice to see you too.”
The Unicorn behind the counter smiled and waved the two ponies forward. “And who is your friend?” she asked as she pulled out the guest book. 
“My name is Symphony, ma’am,” Symphony replied with a nod. 
Cove made a face. “Ma’am? Where’d you find her, Sea Swirl? Canterlot Castle?”
“Close enough,” Sea Swirl said with a grin. She nudged Symphony in good fun, but the mare just stared back at her. “Er…anyway, we need a room for the weekend.”
“Sure. Let me just get the key.” Cove ducked under the counter and then came up with a key in her teeth. She put it on the counter and Sea Swirl pulled out the money. “Last room on the left. The one with the view.”
“Thanks, Cove.” Sea Swirl picked the key up with her magic and turned to Symphony. “You’re going to love this room. It has a full view of Horseshoe Bay and the ocean.”
“It is…by the waterfront?” Symphony asked as she followed Sea Swirl down the hallway toward the room. “Is that safe?”
“Pssh. Of course it is.” Sea Swirl waved her hoof. “Unless you sleepwalk. Ah, here we are. Close your eyes.”
Symphony gave Sea Swirl a look. “Why?”
“Please?” 
Symphony sighed through her nose and remained silent for a few moments, but then she closed her eyes. “Very well.”
“Great! Now, don’t open them until I say to.” 
Sea Swirl opened the door to their room and carefully led Symphony inside. She took her saddlebag off and tossed it to the side, and then took Symphony’s bags and put them aside too. Then, trying to keep her pulse under control as she held the mare’s hoof in hers, she led Symphony to the back door and out onto the small patio. The smell of ocean air instantly filled her nose and she had to struggle to stay on the patio and not go running for the ocean, but the thought of what she as about to see made her stay focused. 
“Okay…open your eyes,” Sea Swirl said after she had positioned Symphony at just the right angle.
Symphony’s reaction was nothing like Sea Swirl expected. The mare opened her eyes, but instead of her jaw dropping slightly and her breath halting in a gasp, the Earth pony immediately went stiff. Her eyes bulged and fixated on the massive body of water down by the beach. She instantly took two steps back and bumped into the door on the patio. She tried to take another step but her body folded up against the building as her breathing became quick and shallow. 
“Whoa, Symphony, calm down,” Sea Swirl said, stepping in front of the pony and blocking her view of the ocean. The crystal blue eyes stared right through her, the pupils becoming smaller with each passing second. 
It wasn’t until Sea Swirl reached out and touched Symphony’s shoulder that the mare seemed to remember she was there. 
“I-I can’t swim!” Symphony stammered. Sea Swirl smiled and took a step forward, but the Earth pony shook her head and pressed herself against the door even harder. “Stay away from me!”
Sea Swirl’s stomach fell out as she realized her mistake. Symphony had nearly drowned. Not only that, she had been thrown off of the cliffs of Canterlot to her death. Of course the surprise sight of the ocean would terrify her. 
I’m such an idiot.
“Symphony, it’s okay,” Sea Swirl said, trying to keep her eyes clear of tears. “The cove in at least a three minute walk away. You have nothing to worry about.”
“What about waves?” the mare asked. Sea Swirl would have thought she was joking if not for the sheer terror in her eyes. Unless some freak hurricane came their way, there was no possible way the waves could even come close to reaching the hotel. 
“They can’t get you,” Sea Swirl promised. “The bay breaks them up long before they can reach all the way to the motel. And even if they did, I’d…I’d save you again. I promise.”
That remark got Symphony’s attention off of the ocean, and for a moment Sea Swirl was relieved, but then she saw the look on the mare’s face. 
“I did not ask you to save me,” Symphony said in a low voice. She pulled herself off of the wall and took a deep breath as her eyes returned to their normal half-closed position. Without a word, she turned and walked back into the motel room. 
“Okay, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Sea Swirl whispered to herself. She turned and took one last look at the beach. She had planned to take Symphony down there after they ate lunch and walked around a bit, but that was out of the question now. She still had every intention of going down and diving in the bay’s waters, just as much for work as for pleasure, but she didn’t want to leave Symphony alone in a town she clearly wasn’t familiar with. 
I’ll just go down tonight when she’s sleeping.
Deciding that was the best course of action, the Unicorn nodded and walked back into the motel room.
And nearly plowed into Symphony. 
“Uh, what are—?”
“We have a problem,” Symphony said without turning around. Sea Swirl carefully moved around her until she was in the room too. 
“Uh, what?”
Symphony simply pointed at the room with her hoof. 
Sea Swirl didn’t see what the problem was. The room was well kept, with nice calming colors and a pleasant sea-themed design scheme. Their bags were by the door where she had left them and the bathroom look clean from what she could see. The bed was freshly made and had several large, fluffy pillows on it and two full candles were resting on the nightstands on either side. Everything looked fine. There was even a small refrigerator for them to store things in if needed.
“Um…I don’t get it,” Sea Swirl said as she scratched the back of her neck. “What am I looking at?”
“Where are you going to sleep?”
Sea Swirl’s face scrunched up and she gave a small laugh. “In the bed, of course.”
“And where am I going to sleep?”
“In the—oh.” Sea Swirl’s cheeks went red she hung her head as she looked over at Symphony. “I see. Um…I’ll, uh, go see if Cove has any rooms with two beds.”
“That would be best.” 
Sea Swirl walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, took a few steps down the hallway, and then let out a devastating sigh. She wasn’t making a good impression with Symphony. First she had been too thick to realize the trauma she would cause by showing Symphony the ocean—Even after she reminded me on the train!—and now she had thoughtlessly booked a room with only one bed. If she wasn’t careful, Symphony was going to end up hating her guts.
“If she doesn’t already,” the Unicorn mumbled as she walked down the hall and into the lobby
“Jeez, Sea Swirl. I’d be worried that your room was a completely disaster if I hadn’t just checked it myself,” Cove said when she saw Sea Swirl’s defeated posture. 
Sea Swirl raised her head. “No, the room’s fine, Cove. It looks beautiful.”
“Mmm…” Cove said as she leaned forward on the counter. “So…troubles with marefriend then?”
Sea Swirl stood bolt upright and her ears threatened to tear off of her head. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Symphony wasn’t standing in earshot and then whipped around. She imagined the look of panic on her face matched Symphony’s when she had seen the ocean. 
“Symphony? Marefriend? Me?” the Unicorn stammered. “No no no no no. Not a chance. She’s just…uh…” What was Symphony, exactly? Were they friends yet? Sea Swirl would like to think that, but she wasn’t so sure. Symphony was a very difficult pony to read, and it seemed like every time Sea Swirl got past one wall, three more sprang up. 
“I think you’re protesting too much,” Cove said with a grin. 
“I am not!” Sea Swirl said. Whatever she and Symphony were, they were not a couple. 
Cove simply smiled. “So what’s bothering you?”
“Well, uh…” Sea Swirl scratched the back of her neck and looked around the lobby in an attempt to avoid Cove’s eyes. “Is there…another room with…?”
“What was that? You’re mumbling.”
“Is there another room with…?”
“Nope. Still can’t understand you when you talk into the ground like that.”
“IS THERE ANOTHER ROOM WITH TWO BEDS IN IT?” Sea Swirl shouted as her head shot up and she locked eyes with Cove. Immediately, she stuffed her hoof in her mouth and looked down the hall, terrified that Symphony had heard her shout like that. 
“Why?” Cove asked. “I wouldn’t mind sleeping next to her.”
“Yeah…” Sea Swirl mumbled, still looking down the hallway with her hoof in her mouth.
“What was that?”
“Nothing!”  Sea Swirl looked back at the Unicorn and pulled her hoof out of her mouth, but she could already tell that Cove had heard what she had said. “So, is there?”
“I’m afraid not, Sea Swirl.”
“Cove, that isn’t funny.”
“Trust me. As amusing as it is to see you squirm like this, I wouldn’t willing put you in this situation.” To prove her point, Cove spun the guest book around. “See?”
Not every room in the motel was booked, but all the ones with two beds were. 
Dismayed, Sea Swirl looked up. “What’s going on? Some sort of convention?”
“It’s the weekend,” Cove replied as she closed the book. “Families come out to the beach. You think you have it bad, try sleeping in the same bed as a little filly all hopped up on excitement for the trip.”
Sea Swirl hung her head in defeat. “Well, thanks anyway.” Without another word, she turned and walked back to her room. She took a few deep breaths before she opened the door. 
Symphony was still standing in the same spot from when Sea Swirl had left. She was looking out the backdoor, but turned around the moment she heard the door open. 
“Well?” she asked.
“Um…I’m afraid there aren’t any other rooms. At least, none with two beds.” Symphony just stared, blinking once. “But it’s okay! I can just sleep on the floor. The carpet is really soft and there are more than enough pillows. It’ll be okay.”
“I’m rather hungry,” Symphony said, seeming to completely miss all of Sea Swirl’s speech, but Sea Swirl was glad for the abrupt change in conversation.
“Well, there are plenty of places to eat around here. Anything in particular you like?”
Symphony blinked a few times before she answered. “Whatever you pick is fine.”
Sea Swirl sat down on the carpet—it really was rather soft—and thought for a moment. Symphony lived and breathed Canterlot. She was no doubt used to fancy, high-end food. There were a few restaurants along the boardwalk that offered that type of dining, but they were extremely pricy and didn’t really offer much for the cost. 
There were, of course, the countless little greaser joints littering the boardwalk. Sea Swirl’s mouth started to water at the thought of all the food.  Carrotdogs, deep-friend hay fries, veggie burgers grilled over open flames, and so many delicious treats and snacks. Those were her preferences, but would Symphony like them?
“Do you like churros?” the Unicorn asked as the idea sprang into her head. 
“What are those?” Symphony asked.
“It’s a snack. A really good one.” 
Symphony’s eyes narrowed a bit more than usual. “I was hoping we could get some actual food.”
“We can,” Sea Swirl said quickly. “We can grab some churros and snack on those while we walk around and look for a place to eat.”
“Do they taste good?”
Sea Swirl licked her lips as she thought about the crunchy and gooey treat covered in cinnamon. “Delicious.” 
“Very well.”
“Great!” Sea Swirl jumped forward, picked up her saddlebag, and grabbed Symphony’s foreleg and pulled her out the door. She continued pulling her along until they reached the lobby and she saw Cove looking at her with a huge grin on her face. 
Sea Swirl instantly let go of Symphony’s hoof and pretended not to notice Cove as they left the motel. 
Like before, the boardwalk was flooded with ponies walking about. Sea Swirl almost took Symphony’s hoof by reflex, but then she remembered the grin on Cove’s face and thought better of it. She settled for simply walking next to her as they waded through the crowds. 
Sea Swirl closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose, trying to sort out the scents in the air. All she got were the countless food scents and the sea air, so she opened her eyes and stood up on the tips of her hooves. She craned her neck until she spied the familiar blue, white, and red color scheme of a pony snack cart over the heads of all the ponies.
“This way,” she said as she began moving through the crowd again. Symphony quietly followed. 
“Hello, ladies!” the vendor said when the two ponies finally reached his cart through the crowds. “What can I get you?”
Sea Swirl’s mouth began to water as she looked over all the fried and baked goodness before her, but her eyes zoomed in on the long, cinnamon-coated treats slowly turning in the warmer. She licked her lips and pointed to them as she said, “Two, please.”
“Coming right up.” The vendor pulled the two churros out and wrapped them while Sea Swirl paid. A moment later, Sea Swirl was holding both of them with her magic. She unwrapped hers and held the other one out for Symphony. 
“Um…are you certain that is…eatable?” Symphony asked as she stared at the dessert.
“Mm-hm!” Sea Swirl said as she took a big bite of hers. She smiled as the taste flooded her mouth and brought countless memories back into her mind. “Mmm…”
Symphony tenderly took her churro with her hoof and raised it to her mouth. She sniffed it a couple of times and made a face. “It smells sweet.”
“Because it is!” Sea Swirl said, her mouth still filled with gooey delicious filling. She smiled, fully aware that her teeth were probably covered in cinnamon, but she didn’t care. She figured the sight of it would put Symphony at ease. 
It didn’t.
“That is disgusting,” the mare said as she stared at Sea Swirl’s face.
“Oh.” The smile instantly fell from Sea Swirl’s face and the churro lost its flavor. “Uh, yeah, I guess it is. Sorry about that.”
The two ponies stood in silence for an uncomfortable moment. Sea Swirl was starting to feel like they were spending more and more of their time together doing that instead of actually…well, anything else really. Bonding maybe? Was that was she was trying to do with Symphony? She guessed that was true, seeing as she had invited her to come on the trip, but now the trip was turning into a nightmare and it had barely started. She had fallen asleep on Symphony during the train ride, scared her half to death with the ocean, failed to realize that they shouldn’t share a bed, and now she was behaving like a little filly, something she doubted Symphony found amusing. 
Sea Swirl sighed. What the hay am I doing? We’re nothing alike. Why did I think we could be friends?
“Uh, Symphony, look. I know this trip isn’t exactly going well. What with the ocean, and the bed and everything.” Sea Swirl took a deep breath and closed her eyes to calm herself. “So…if you want, I can buy you a ticket back to Canterlot right now. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I—”
“No,” Symphony said in a flat tone.
“Uh…okay?” Sea Swirl asked, confused. “No, what?”
“I don’t wish to go back to Canterlot yet.”
“But—”
“But what?” Symphony asked. “Are you trying to get rid of me after inviting me? That seems rather rude.”
“No, it’s not that.” Had she not heard a single thing Sea Swirl had just said?
“Then what? Do you find my presence unseemly?” 
“No, but you don’t—”
“I don’t what? Fit in? Meet your Unicorn standards?” Symphony asked, her eyes narrowing to a dangerous angle. 
Sea Swirl swallowed and decided that she would just stop trying to argue. No matter what she tried, she always seemed to say the wrong thing when she was trying to make Symphony feel better. 
“So…you don’t want to go?” she asked instead. 
“No thank you,” Symphony replied. She brought the churro to her mouth and took a small bite. As she did, her eyes opened up fully and she froze for a second, and then she slowly chewed the treat until she swallowed. She licked the cinnamon off of her lips and then took another small bite. “Besides, the food seems decent.” 
That look of wonder on the Earth pony’s face was the look that Sea Swirl had hoped to see when Symphony had first seen the ocean. She decided that it was still just as special if it came from the pony biting into a snack. 
	
> Late Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Symphony groaned and rolled over in the bed. The motion only made her stomach grumble more and a rumble shot through her. She squeezed her eyes tighter, hoping to sleep through the discomfort, but it was too late. She was already awake and her stomach was telling her that it was not pleased with her earlier dining choices. 
“Ugh…I’m never eating cotton candy again,” the Earth pony mumbled. “Or…churros, or pizza, or…anything.” 
Symphony admitted that all the juke food, as Sea Swirl called it, had been rather tasty. And it had been the first time in a long time she had been able to actually eat her fill, thanks to the Unicorn offering to pay for everything, but all the sugar, grease, and Celestia knew what else went into those foods was now tearing her stomach apart. 
A burp escaped her mouth and her eyes shot open. She covered her mouth with her hoof and held her breath, praying that Sea Swirl hadn’t heard her.  The last thing she needed was for the Unicorn to grow disgusted with her.  She still needed Sea Swirl for her social connections if she wanted any hope of ascending in Canterlot. 
Symphony stayed perfectly still for a few seconds, cursing her moody stomach, as she strained her ears to listen. She even held her breath for a few moments, waiting to see if she could hear any sound from the Unicorn sleeping on the floor, but she heard nothing. No giggling, no disgusted huffs of air, and certainly no mumbling.
In fact, Symphony didn’t even hear breathing. 
The Earth pony sat up in her bed and blinked a few times to adjust her eyes. The room was rather dark, but there was enough moonlight pouring in through the open door for her to—
Wait. Why is the door open?
Symphony felt a chill run down her body despite the fact that she was buried in blankets. If somepony had snuck into their room, then they were in danger. She didn’t know the first thing about fighting, and Sea Swirl didn’t seem to be well trained in offensive magic. Still, between the two of them, the Unicorn was probably the better bet of repelling the intruder. 
It was certainly safer for Symphony too.
“Sea Swirl!” Symphony hissed under her breath. There was no answer. She tried again, a bit louder, but still she heard nothing. Frustrated, she reached behind her head, grabbed a pillow, and tossed it onto the floor where Sea Swirl was sleeping. “Wake up!” 
All Symphony heard was the muffled thump of the pillow hitting the floor.
Oh no. What if they already got her? What if they’re just waiting in the shadows to slit my throat? Symphony frowned at the thought. Well, if that was what they were planning, then she wasn’t going to make it easy for them. They might have killed Sea Swirl without a fuss, but she wasn’t going to die as easily. 
Symphony counted to two and then dove for the lamp by the side of the bed. She turned it on and tumbled off of the mattress at the same time. She had planned to roll away and come up with her back to the wall, ready to face whomever had broken into the room, but her plan failed. Her hooves got tangled in the sheets and she face-planted onto the plush carpet. Her head rung from a moment and her chin burned, but she quickly kicked her legs free and the rest of her body fell to the floor. She shook her head and stood up, all of her vigor gone now. She turned around, fully expecting to see some evil Unicorn smiling at her before he killed her, but all she saw was the room. 
The Earth pony relaxed a little, but then something strange caught her eye. The makeshift bed on the floor was empty. Had somepony come in and taken Sea Swirl? But if that was the case, why had they left Symphony alone?
“Because I’m worthless,” the Earth pony spat. “Especially compared to a pony like her…” Why would anypony bother taking her when they could take somepony like Sea Swirl? 
Only, that thought didn’t make any sense either. The bed on the floor—which honestly wasn’t really a bed, just a blanket and two pillows—did not look disturbed at all. Either the pony that had grabbed Sea Swirl had taken the time to make the bed perfect again, or Sea Swirl had willingly left. 
“Tch. She probably just wanted to get rid of me,” Symphony said as she gently kicked the Unicorn’s pillow. How dare Sea Swirl try to ditch her in the middle of the night! She knew Unicorns were rude, but this was a new low, even for them! 
Symphony stomped over to the opened back door, fully intent on slamming and locking it, but then a thought crossed her mind. If Sea Swirl had meant to ditch her, why had she left her bed out? And why had she gone out the back? Surely the faster way would have been to leave out the front.  Symphony supposed it could have been to avoid paying the room fee, but then she remembered that the Unicorn had paid for everything upfront. 
“Did she really just…go out for a walk?” Symphony looked out the backdoor. She opened it more and walked out onto the small patio. She immediately noticed how cool it was and her ears picked up a strange, dull roar. She froze, afraid that some beast was waiting in the shadows, but the roar was constant in tone and never seemed to break. She rolled her eyes as she realized she was hearing the sound of the ocean. She gazed out across the dark beach and spied what looked like liquid blackness in the distance. The moonlight danced across it, giving it an eerie appearance, as if the very fabric of reality was twisting apart. 
A chill ran down Symphony’s spine that had nothing to do with the cool ocean air as she stared into the distance. She spied a single orange light at the edge of murky blackness. She watched it flicker and dance in the dark and her mind realized that she was looking at a fire. She walked to the edge of the patio and looked down at the sand. As her eyes adjusted to the night, she was able to make out hoofprints. She didn’t see any signs of a struggle, so she guessed Sea Swirl really had just walked down to the beach in the middle of the night. 
“What a weird pony,” Symphony said as she again looked out at the fire. Whatever the Unicorn was doing, it clearly had nothing to do with her. If it had, Sea Swirl would have woken her up. She probably wanted to be left alone. 
Besides, after the way Symphony had acted when she had first seen the ocean, she wouldn’t be surprised if Sea Swirl wanted her nowhere near the water. 
Symphony made a face. “Well too bad for her. She can’t get rid of me that easily.” She stepped off of the patio and began to make her way down to the flickering light. She kept her eyes focused on the flame, because she knew that if she looked the liquid darkness of the ocean behind it, terror would seize her and she’d dash back to the room. 
Why am I doing this? Symphony kept asking herself that over and over as she walked. It became a mantra, allowing her to move her legs at a constant pace and switch off the parts of her mind that were slowly growing in panic the closer she got to the ocean. 
But try as she might, she found that she couldn’t actually answer the question. 
Suddenly, the Earth pony felt the soft touch of heat on her muzzle. She blinked, her mind snapping back to reality, and realized that she had reached the edge of the fire’s warmth. She looked around, but the light from the flames made it impossible for her to see in the night anymore. Sea Swirl could be sitting directly on the other side of the fire and she’d have no idea. 
“Sea Swirl?” Symphony called as she walked closer to the fire. She paused for a moment as she stepped fully into the light and let the comforting heat wash over her body. She looked back toward the motel and was surprised to see how far away it was. Had she really walked that far? 
A splash tore through the night and Symphony jumped. The noise had disrupted the constant loll of the ocean’s roar, and she was stunned to discover that she had actually grown accustomed to the sound. With her heart pounding, she stepped past the fire, careful not to get too close so her tail wouldn’t ignite, and strained her eyes against the darkness. 
As her eyes adjusted, she found that the sight was actually quite beautiful. The water wasn’t a pitch black, but a deep blue. The moonlight no longer looked like it was being torn apart on its surface, but instead swam along the waves, bouncing the light around the small cove. The water almost looked inviting, and the soft sloshing of the waves was a lullaby. 
The mare’s eyes grew heavy as she stared out at the water, her fear of it forgotten for the time being. Maybe she would take the Unicorn up on her swimming lessons after all. Looking at the water like this, it didn’t seem so bad. 
A dim light began to dance along the water. At first, Symphony paid it no mind, thinking it was just the moonlight again. But the light began to move against the waves, and it dashed about in ways that were impossible for a reflection. It was also growing brighter and bigger. 
Symphony’s growing appreciation for the ocean vanished in a heartbeat as she watched the light. Was this some sea monster? Had it eaten Sea Swirl? Could it walk on land? Symphony figured she could run fast enough to get back to the motel if she had to. She took a small step back as the light drew closer to the surface. 
The light burst from under the surface and Symphony dashed backward so fast that she tripped. She fell onto her back and immediately felt all the sand wiggle its way into her mane. The feeling made her skin crawl, and for a moment her mind was focused on how long it was going to take for her to wash it all out, but then she remembered the mysterious light. 
She scrambled to her hooves, ready to run for the motel with all her might, but she stopped when she saw the source of the light. 
“Hey, Symphony!” Sea Swirl’s head was bobbing in the water. Her horn was glowing with light and she had a smile on her face. “Um…what brings you out here?”
“What are you doing?” Symphony asked. Relief flooded her body, but she wasn’t quite sure why. She brushed it off as being happy that some ocean monster wasn’t about to eat her. 
“Oh, I was diving,” Sea Swirl replied, her head still bobbing in the water. She blew air out of her mouth in an attempt to get mane out of her eyes, but the effort was wasted. The soaking wet mane stubbornly stayed in place. 
“At this hour?” Symphony asked. She sat down on the shore, well away from the water, and stared at the Unicorn. She knew that Sea Swirl was odd, but this seemed to be pushing things. 
“Oh, well…” Sea Swirl’s hoof came up out of the water and she rubbed the back of her neck. “I…kind of meant to go diving today, but, well…” Symphony hoped the night and the fire behind her hid the shame on her face as she understood the implied remark. “So I just came down here after you went to sleep. I, uh, didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No,” Symphony replied shortly. Was Sea Swirl trying to make her feel terrible? Well, she wasn’t going to succeed. “Why is your horn glowing?”
“Hm?” Sea Swirl’s eyes looked up at her horn. “Oh. That’s so I can see underwater. It’s pretty dark without the sun. The moon helps a little, but I need to be able to see the gems and stones, not just swim around.”
“You’re…working?” Symphony asked.
“Yeah.” Sea Swirl raised a small satchel out of the water and held it up with her hooves. “Some of the rarest gems can only be found in the ocean. That’s the reason I came here this weekend.”
“So I was just an afterthought?” Symphony demanded. She narrowed her eyes as she glared at the Unicorn in the water. 
“No!” Sea Swirl said. “I mean, yes. I mean, I was planning on going to the ocean anyway, and I just thought you’d like to come too.” 
Symphony was about to speak again, but she froze. Something else was in the water with Sea Swirl. A lone fin had appeared behind her, and it was slowly making its way toward the Unicorn. 
Symphony opened her mouth, but the word refused to come.  It only sounded in her head. 
Shark!
“Symphony, you okay?” Sea Swirl asked, still floating in the water and completely unaware of the fin closing in behind her. 
Symphony jumped up and pointed with her hoof. “Behind you!” she managed to shout at the last second. 
“Huh?” Sea Swirl looked over her shoulder, but it was too late. The fin vanished beneath the water, and an instant later, Sea Swirl’s head disappeared as well. 
“SEA SWIRL!” Symphony rushed to the water’s edge. She felt it wash up against her hooves and her muscles cringed as the icy water ran up her legs. She went into the surf up to her knees, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t swim, and even if she could, she doubted she’d be able to save the Unicorn from the shark. Horrified, she stood in the freezing water, staring at the spot where the pony had been moments before. 
The water exploded and two forms sprang upward. Symphony screamed and back-peddled out of the surf, but she couldn’t pull her gaze away from the display. 
One of the forms was bent and looked like a grey crescent moon. It flipped in the air once and then plunged back into the water. 
The other form soared higher, and Symphony’s breath left her. It was Sea Swirl. She rose into the sky, her hind legs straight with her forelegs flared out to either side. She spun in the air like a top, scattering countless drops of water in every direction. Most of them vanished into the night, but a few of them caught either the moonlight or firelight and dazzled as bright as stars for a brief moment. 
Sea Swirl stopped spinning and flipped forward, plunging back toward the water in a dive. She slipped beneath the water with barely a sound or a splash, and once again fear seized Symphony’s heart, but it only lasted for a second. 
Almost immediately, Sea Swirl’s head appeared above the water again, this time much closer to shore. She began to move forward, a smile beaming on her face, until her hooves could touch the bottom and she walked out of the surf. 
Symphony simply stared at her, her mouth open. 
“What?” Sea Swirl asked as she walked up to Symphony. Water flowed off of her in rivers, and a part of Symphony suspected that she was probably freezing, but she didn’t seem to care. 
“What…what was…?” Symphony raised her hoof and pointed to finish her sentence. 
“That was Aqua, my friend.” Sea Swirl turned and made a strange clicking noise with her mouth. A second later, the satchel she had shown earlier came flying out of the water. The Unicorn caught it with her magic and levitated it over to the fire, and then turned back to the ocean. “Aqua, come say hi.” 
The strange clicking noise came from ocean this time, and a second later, a long nose poked out of the water, followed by the rest of a smooth, grey face. 
“A…dolphin?” Symphony asked. She stared at the creature’s face, and she could feel it staring back at her. There was intelligence in its eyes that Symphony knew a lot of ponies didn’t have. 
Aqua made the clicking noise again and a second later spit water into Symphony’s face. The mare gasped and shook her face, spitting salt water out of her mouth. 
“Hey!” 
“She likes you,” Sea Swirl said, trying not to laugh. “She’s hoping you’ll go play with her.”
Symphony glared at the dolphin. It seemed to be laughing at her with its strange clicks. “Tell her that I must decline.” 
“She knows,” Sea Swirl said with a smirk. 
“How?”
“She can tell you can’t swim.” Sea Swirl pointed to Symphony’s legs. “It’s in the way you tense up around water.” The Unicorn looked back to the dolphin that was still clicking away in the water. “Okay Aqua, it’s time to go home. I’m pretty sure it’s past your bedtime, and I’m getting sleepy.” 
Aqua let out a quick click and disappeared beneath the water. Her tail flipped up for a brief moment and waved, and then the sea creature was gone. 
“I did not know Aqua was…” Symphony started as she continued to stare at the water. 
“That she wasn’t a pony?” Sea Swirl asked. The Unicorn turned away from the ocean and walked back toward the fire. She sat down and gazed into the flames for a long time. “I…don’t really have many pony friends.”
Symphony stifled a sigh. This was going to turn into one of those bonding moments, wasn’t it? Sea Swirl was going to talk about how lonely her childhood was and basically spill her entire life story. And it was going to be Symphony’s job to sit there and listen to her. She didn’t really want to, but she decided she had to. If she wanted to get in good with Sea Swirl, she had no choice. 
Rolling her eyes, she walked over and sat down next to Sea Swirl. Not too close, but close enough to show that she was willing to listen. “Why not?” she asked, bracing herself for an on pour of emotion. 
To Symphony’s surprise, Sea Swirl chuckled. “Oh, I’m a bit of a free spirit, that’s all. I travel a lot between Canterlot and home, so it’s kind of hard for me to make lasting friends.” 
Symphony cocked her head to the side and blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean ponies don’t really get a chance to get to know me outside of work,” Sea Swirl said, answering the wrong implied question. “To be honest, you’ve stuck around longer than most ponies, but I don’t think that’s going to last.”
Symphony frowned with worry. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, I seem to keep making you miffed, despite my best efforts.”
“Miffed?”
“Angry,” Sea Swirl said, rubbing the back of her neck. She looked over at Symphony for a moment and smiled. “I’m pretty surprised you’ve stuck around this long.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Symphony asked, her tone growing dark. She couldn’t let Sea Swirl just kick her to the curb like this. This Unicorn was her ticket out of the life she was living and into the high life of Canterlot. 
“No, but that’s what I mean,” Sea Swirl said, looking deeper into the fire. “It seems like every time I open my mouth, I make you angry. I mean, you thought I was hoping you’d sleep with me when we first met. How bad do I have to screw our first meeting for you to get that impression?” The pony laughed nervously. “And then, like an idiot, I took you to the ocean, despite knowing that you can’t swim and the traumatic experience you’d just been through. And then there’s the whole mess with the bed, which again makes it look like I want to sleep with you.”
“I…” Symphony stopped for a moment. What she was about to say was something that she found rather trying. “I…I know I can be…difficult sometimes.”
“No, that’s not—” Symphony shot Sea Swirl a look that could freeze Princess Celestia. “Okay, yeah, maybe a little. It does seem like you take everything in the worst possible way.”
“I…don’t mean to,” Symphony replied. “It is just…I…you know how Canterlot can be. A pony has to constantly watch her back.”
“Tell me about it,” Sea Swirl said with a laugh. “If I wasn’t so popular, or if another pony comes along that opens up a jewelry shop like mine, I’m pretty sure I’d be run out of town in a heartbeat. I can’t tell you the number of ponies I’ve managed to tick off in that town.”
“I am not one of them,” Symphony said, and she found that she actually meant it. 
“Glad to hear it,” Sea Swirl replied. She looked to the side and grabbed the satchel with her magic. She held it in front of them both and then turned it upside down, dumping its contents onto the sand. “Let’s see what we got.” 
Symphony’s eyes widened as dozens of precious gems and stones spilled in front of her. There were even a few pearls, though none of them were nearly as big as the one Sea Swirl had given her. Still, even this small amount was more than enough for Symphony to not only pay half a year’s rent, but she could probably even afford to move to a better apartment.
“Not a bad take,” Sea Swirl said as she spread the stones out with her hooves. She lifted a white pearl up with her magic and held it close to her eye. “This should fetch a nice price. I’ll have to…” The Unicorn stopped as she yawned. “Excuse me.” 
“How long have you been diving?” Symphony asked, trying to not stare squarely at the stones in front of her. 
“Years.” Sea Swirl put the pearl back on the sand and then laid back. “It pays the bills, that’s for sure, but it’s a bit lonely. It’s not like I have a diving team or anything.” Her tails swished in the sand, flicking some of it on Symphony. 
“Why not?” Symphony asked. With the amount of bits Sea Swirl was making, she could easily afford to hire some ponies to work for her.
“I use some special spells that aren’t exactly common, and I don’t really feel like teaching them to other Unicorns,” Sea Swirl said. “For instance, I bet right about now you’re hooves are starting to get cold, despite sitting next to the fire.”
Symphony blinked in surprised. Her hooves and legs were freezing actually. The water had been ice cold when she had rushed in, and yet Sea Swirl had been swimming in it like it was nothing. 
“That’s one of them,” the Unicorn continued. “I can change the temperature of the water around me. I can’t boil it or anything, but I can make it comfortable enough for me. I can also breathe underwater, and reduce the water resistance on my body if I need to. I used those spells when I pulled you out of the water.” 
Symphony’s eyes shifted away from the stones and to Sea Swirl for a moment. The Unicorn was still on her back, staring straight up at the night sky. She had a smile on her face and her lavender mane was clinging to her forehead. She looked perfectly peaceful, despite what she had just said. 
“I don’t like using them though,” she said as she closed her eyes. “I like to feel the water around me. I like the way it flows around me, embraces me, and whips through my fur. That, and they take a lot of magic.” The Unicorn let out another long yawn when she finished. 
“I see,” Symphony said. She wished she could use magic. Imagine all the instruments she could play if she could. A violin would just be the start. She would learn how to play a bass, the drums, a cello, anything. And she’d learn how to play them all at the same time. Then she wouldn’t be some no-name Earth pony in Canterlot. She would finally be able to take her rightful place in—
“Weee…”
Symphony made a face at the strange noise. What was it?
“Weee…”
“Sea Swirl?” The Earth pony looked down at the Unicorn. She had fallen asleep on the sand. The strange noise was her snoring. Unbelievable. What type of pony could fall asleep in the sand? Just sitting on it was making Symphony’s fur itch, but Sea Swirl had fallen asleep on it like it was a feather bed. 
Symphony continued to stare at the Unicorn for a long time, her mind wandering along no certain paths. Eventually she returned her gaze to the fire and she stared at its dancing flames, losing herself. She only came back to her senses when her eyes caught the glint of something in the sand. 
Her crystal blue eyes shot down to the glint and went wide. All of the stones that Sea Swirl had collected were still scattered around in front of her. They were there in the open, for the taking, and Sea Swirl was asleep. Surely the Unicorn wouldn’t notice, or more importantly, care if one or two of the stones were gone. 
Symphony reached out and scooped up the nearest pearl and held it up in front of her. She still had plenty of bits left over from the last pearl Sea Swirl had given her, but that money would eventually run out. 
“She is not short on bits, either,” Symphony said. She looked down at the sleeping pony next to her. She wouldn’t mind. In fact, if Symphony asked, the Unicorn would most likely give her the pearl. She was kind like that, sickeningly so it seemed. Yes, it wouldn’t be a problem at all. She had to only take it, and then…
Something in Symphony’s chest twisted as she watched the sleeping pony. 
But what if she does care? What if…what if she finds out that I took this, and she thinks I stole it? That would not be good. That would be terrible in fact. If Sea Swirl told her to get lost, she’d be back to square one, and she couldn’t risk that. The pearl might pay for a few things now, but it wasn’t worth risking Sea Swirl and her free ticket to better places. 
Symphony put the pearl in the satchel, and the moment she did, relief flooded her body. She thought that was strange. She shook the feeling away and began to gather up the rest of the stones. When she finished, she kicked sand onto the fire and smothered it, then stomped on it for good measure. The only light that remained was from Luna’s moon and stars, and it was rather breathtaking. She sat and stared up at them for a few minutes until she heard Sea Swirl stir behind her. 
Expecting to see the Unicorn waking up, Symphony looked down. But instead of waking, Sea Swirl had simply rolled over and curled up in a ball. She now had a content smile on her face as she slept away in the sand. 
Symphony rolled her eyes. She slung the satchel over her shoulder and then tapped Sea Swirl with her hoof. The Unicorn groaned, but she didn’t wake. Symphony tapped her again, harder, but still she remained asleep. 
“Fine,” Symphony groaned. She thought for a moment about leaving her, but decided against it. If she woke up and found that her entire satchel of gems was gone, Symphony knew that would look bad. So she bent down and carefully picked up the sleeping pony. She wiggled her way under her until she managed to get Sea Swirl draped across her back. She was heavy, but not nearly as heavy as the cart Symphony had pulled a few days ago. 
The Earth pony began to make her way through the sand and back up to the motel room. Sea Swirl simply stayed on her back the whole time, snoring quietly and occasionally rubbing her face against Symphony’s side. 
When they reached the room, Symphony navigated through the door, careful not to smack Sea Swirl’s head against the frame. Once they were inside, she stopped and at stared at the floor. Sea Swirl’s makeshift bed was still there, ready for her to slip in. All Symphony had to do was drop her there and she’d no doubt sleep the night away. After all, she hadn’t woken up this entire time.
Her eyes drifted back over to the bed. It really was big enough for two ponies, and Sea Swirl was already asleep, so there was no chance of her trying something. Besides, she seemed decent, especially for a Unicorn. Even if she did wake up, odds were she’d probably just carefully crawl out of bed and back onto the floor. 
Slowly, Symphony shucked Sea Swirl off of her back and into the bed. The Unicorn’s head tilted back onto the pillow and her mouth fell open. She groaned a little bit and shifted until she was comfortable and then went back to peaceful slumber. 
Symphony set the satchel down by the bed, closed the backdoor, and then crawled onto the other side of the bed. She took one of the spare pillows and placed it between her and Sea Swirl just to be safe—she didn’t want the Unicorn flopping over onto her side—and then turned out the light. 
This trip isn’t so bad, she thought as she drifted off to sleep. 
	
> That's Not What Happened
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sea Swirl was forced down, none too gently, on her back. Her plush pillows cradled her head and the covers embraced her. She tried to sit up out of reflex, but a yellow hoof pressed down on her chest and forced her back down. She wiggled a little under its weight, but the hoof just pressed harder, pinning her. 
“Uh…what’s going on?” Sea Swirl asked. Her room was dark, illuminated only by a small candle on the far side. As its light flickered, she was able to make out the form of a pony sitting on the edge of her bed. 
“You are not leaving,” a voice whispered.  Sea Swirl shuddered a little as the hoof rubbed her chest. “Mm…somepony seems excited.”
“Heh heh…” Sea Swirl laughed. “Uh…maybe more like nervous? Confused too.” 
It was a lie. Despite being pinned to her bed by the hoof, she felt no sense of dread. On the contrary, her heartbeat picked up with each passing second. 
“Nervous? Hm…” The pony leaned forward so that her face appeared in the soft light. “Maybe I can do something about that…?”
Two crystal blue eyes stared down at the Unicorn. They were half closed like always, but now they looked sultry, not full of contempt. A tongue poked out from a cute mouth and slowly traced a circle around the lips, making them glisten in the candlelight. Sea Swirl’s thighs tensed as she watched the display.
Strands from a purple mane fell down and their tips tickled Sea Swirl’s nose as they covered one of the blue eyes. Soft yellow fur filled the rest of Sea Swirl’s vision as the pony leaned in close. The Unicorn could feel each breath on her face. They were deep, slow breaths, and each one made her quiver a little more. 
“Uh…hi, Symphony,” Sea Swirl said with a weak smile. “You, uh, mind telling me—woah!”
The yellow Earth pony pressed down hard on Sea Swirl’s chest as she shifted around on the bed. She straddled Sea Swirl’s stomach and then gently sat down on the Unicorn’s hips.
“Comfortable?” Symphony whispered. She swished her tail between Sea Swirl’s hind legs and the Unicorn’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “May I take that as a yes?”
“Uh…Symphony? What are you—?”
Symphony pressed her other front hoof down on Sea Swirl’s throat, cutting off her question and her air. “I do not remember saying you could talk. Did I say you could?” Symphony’s tail swished as she asked the question. 
Sea Swirl let out a quiet whimper as her body tensed. She locked eyes with Symphony as her breathing became shallower and she quickly shook her head. 
“That’s what I thought,” Symphony said as she removed her hoof from Sea Swirl’s throat. She placed it next to the other one on Sea Swirl’s chest and slowly began to rub the Unicorn’s lavender fur. “Hm…now what should I do with you? You do seem pretty—” Symphony whipped her tail and Sea Swirl gasped “—tense right now. Perhaps I should help you relax?”
Sea Swirl’s heart was in her throat as the Earth pony sat on top of her. She swallowed the lump as best she could and licked her lips several times before she managed to find the words to speak. “Uh…Symphony? Are you feeling…okay?”
“I’m fine,” Symphony whispered. The yellow mare leaned forward and put her mouth next to Sea Swirl’s ear. She pursed her lips and blew a small breeze onto the Unicorn and Sea Swirl’s ear twitch in response. “What about you?”
“Uh…” was all Sea Swirl could say as the tip of Symphony’s tongue traced the edge of her ear.  Her lavender fur bristled and the lump returned to her throat as Symphony drew little circles around her ear. 
Slowly, Symphony’s front hooves began to move away from Sea Swirl’s chest and toward her sprawled out forelegs. The hooves massaged her every bit of the way, pushing Sea Swirl to the brink of her limits, until finally their hooves met. Symphony gently pressed down on Sea Swirl’s hooves, pinning her in place. 
“Ready?” Symphony asked in a voice that caused Sea Swirl to lose track of everything around her. All she could manage was a small nod.
A moment later, Sea Swirl gasped as she felt the Earth pony bite down on her ear. Her body jerked as nerves overloaded with pleasure she had not felt in a long time. She reflexively tried to move her front hooves, but Symphony kept her pinned. All she could do was lay there and feel Symphony’s tongue and lips slowly work on her ear.
Symphony began to move down the side of Sea Swirl’s face, kissing every part of it. She reached the Unicorn’s jawline and traced its edge with her tongue before she nibbled slightly on her neck. She moved on to her throat, and then slowly ran her tongue down the length of Sea Swirl’s neck. She reached her collarbone and then retraced the same path back up the purple neck with her lips. She went over Sea Swirl’s quivering chin, but stopped just below her quaking lips. 
Sea Swirl’s breath was coming in ragged gasps now. Her whole body was on the verge of breaking apart, and she was fighting with all her might to remain still. All it would take was one hip thrust, or one swish of Symphony’s tail, and she would lose herself. 
“T…T…” Sea Swirl stammered with her eyes closed. She could feel Symphony’s chin resting on her face. She could smell her scent and feel her breath. The pressure of the mare’s hips threatened to tear the last thread of Sea Swirl’s self control. All she needed to do was move just a tiny bit, and…
“Mm…what was that?” Symphony’s very voice was enough to send a new wave of torturous pleasure crashing through the Unicorn’s body. 
“Tease…” Sea Swirl panted.
“Mm…”
Symphony pulled her right hoof away from Sea Swirl’s and brought it to the Unicorn’s throat. She pressed down just enough that Sea Swirl’s pulse beat even faster. 
“Open your eyes,” the Earth pony said. 
Sea Swirl did as she was told and met the piercing gaze.
“There you are.”
Symphony pressed her lips against Sea Swirl’s. Their tongues touched and Symphony’s tail swished, brushing the inside of Sea Swirl’s thighs.
The Unicorn could take no more. With her freed foreleg, she wrapped Symphony in an embrace and pulled her close. The Unicorn’s hips pushed up as she did. She felt Symphony’s body tense in response, fueling the fire in Sea Swirl’s own body. She pulled Symphony as close to her as she could, relishing the feeling of the mare’s fur pressing against her own while their lips remained locked. 
Symphony’s hips moved slightly and Sea Swirl’s mind went blank as pleasure tore through her body with such force that she—


*                                                  *                                                  *


Sea Swirl jerked so hard that the chair she was sitting it tilted backward and dumped her onto the ground. The back of her head hit the stone floor and rocked the last traces of sleep from her mind.
“Ow…” she said as lay on the ground, staring up at the umbrella that covered the small dining table. She sat up and rubbed the back of her head, trying to figure out what had just happened. 
She was in a small café that she liked to frequent in Canterlot. A few of the other ponies there were staring at her, including the waiter. 
“Are you well, ma’am?” he asked as he and the customers he was waiting on all looked at her. 
“Yeah,” Sea Swirl replied, blushing. “Just, uh, fell asleep I guess.”
“Very good,” the waiter replied, and then returned his attention to his current customers. 
As if that was a sign, all the other ponies returned to their own conversations and paid Sea Swirl no further mind.
Sea Swirl picked her chair up and sat down in it. She grabbed the small glass of water on the table with her magic and lifted it into the air. As she brought the straw to her mouth, her mind began to wander. She had been dreaming, but what had she been—
Sea Swirl nearly spit the water out of her mouth as she remembered the dream. She slammed the glass back down on the table and hit her chest a few times, forcing the water down her throat. 
What the hay was that about?  she thought. Why am I dreaming about her? And doing…that? I don’t even know her that well! Sure, she’s beautiful, but—whoa! Beautiful?! 
Sea Swirl laid her face down on the table and rubbed her head with her hooves, trying to force the thoughts out of her mind.
Okay, so she thought Symphony was attractive. That was no big deal. She thought a lot of mares, and even a few other species, were attractive. There was nothing wrong with that. 
But that dream!
“Forget it,” Sea Swirl told herself. “She’s not into that. It was one of the first things she told me when we met.”
The memory of Sea Swirl putting her lips against Symphony’s flooded into her brain, and the same thought raced through her head again:
She had such soft lips.
“ARGH!” Sea Swirl knocked her head against the table. “Stop it! I was saving her life! It wasn’t like that! What type of pony starts falling for somepony just because of something like that?”
Sea Swirl’s mind replayed her question for her and then asked her a new one. 
Who said anything about falling for her?
“Grr!” Sea Swirl opened her eyes, but kept her chin resting on the table. This was all because of what had happened on the trip to the ocean. She had just been glad of the company because she missed sleeping next to another body. That was it. Nothing more.
Satisfied with her excuse, the Unicorn raised her head and waited patiently for her meal to arrive. But her mind continued to wander down embarrassing paths. 
Can’t believe I woke up just before the best part…!
Sea Swirl’s cheeks flushed as the unwanted thought ripped through her mind. The dream had been pretty…intense. If it had gone on for just a few more seconds, she might have started making a scene in the café and…she didn’t want to think about what else might have happened. 
“Here is your hayburger, ma’am,” a waiter said as he walked over to Sea Swirl and put a plate down in front of her. “Enjoy your meal.”
“Thanks,” Sea Swirl replied. She lifted the burger and took a massive bite out of it, grateful to have something to take her mind off of her dream. 
Unfortunately, her plan didn’t go as well as she hoped. The feeling of food did manage to drive the enjoyable memories of the dream from her mind, but she found her thoughts still dwelling on Symphony. 
They hadn’t seen each other since they had returned to Canterlot yesterday.  Was the yellow mare thinking about her too?
Sea Swirl’s slumped as she realized how pitiful that thought was. It had only been a day, for Celestia’s sake! And yet she was wondering if Symphony, a pony she barely knew, was thinking about her.  
“It’s just nice having somepony in Canterlot to talk to,” she said, her mouth full of food. She was well aware that she didn’t really fit in with Canterlot society, and while the Unicorn did know Princess Celestia on a friendly level, the Princess couldn’t exactly walk down the street or get a bite to eat with her. It would draw way too much attention. 
Having Symphony around was just a nice change of pace to the rather lonely times she spent in the city. That was all it was. 
True, the Earth pony was beautiful with her yellow fur and her rich purple mane, and her blue eyes were hypnotizing when they weren’t scowling at something Sea Swirl said or did, but Sea Swirl wasn’t attracted to her. No, of course not. She was just happy to have a pony friend in Canterlot that wanted to spend time with her. 
Yes, that was all it was. That stupid dream had been nothing more than the result of her body missing having another body to cuddle with, and after what had happened on the trip—
Sea Swirl blushed and shoved that memory from her mind.  She really should go apologize again to Symphony for what had happened. 
Content with the belief that she had no special feelings for the Earth pony beyond wanting to be her friend, Sea Swirl smiled and tore into the rest of her burger. She hummed to herself as she ate and the smile on her face spread until she was beaming. She finished off her lunch, left her payment on the table—plus a generous tip—and made her way out of the café. 
Canterlot’s streets were the same as they always were. Ponies walked up and down the sidewalks, all of them in a hurry to get somewhere, but all of them wanting to be seen. Some of them had their noses raised in the air a bit higher than usual, while others walked with a slow gait that was the usual pace in the royal city. 
Most ponies probably didn’t even realize how desperately they were trying to be noticed. It was, after all, the standard in Canterlot. But Sea Swirl came from Ponyville, where ponies pranced, walked, and sometimes even bounced down the streets, so her eyes picked up on the differences easily. 
Seeing so many high and fancy ponies walking around reminded Sea Swirl of her work. Her trip down to Horseshoe Bay had been a huge success, at least in terms of gathering. She and Aqua had found a generous amount of stones, and plenty of pearls on top of that. Business was going to be good for a while now. 
Smiling and still humming to herself, Sea Swirl joined the throng of ponies and began to make her way down the street. She briefly wondered if she should stop by Symphony’s place to apologize, but she realized she had no idea where the pony lived. She shrugged the thought away, deciding that next time they ran into each other, she would just ask. 
As she walked, Sea Swirl began to draw up designs for jewelry in her head. Visions of necklaces draped over pony necks threaded through her mind. The ideas of all the different earrings she could make pierced her thoughts. She found the smile on her face growing larger still as pearls and gems flashed in her head. She was going to be busy for the next few days for sure. Thankfully, she didn’t have any special orders that she needed to work on, so she could just focus on her crafts.
“I wonder if Symphony would like something?” the Unicorn asked herself as she walked down the street. For half a heartbeat, her mind wandered along paths of Symphony’s beautiful figure in earrings or necklaces, but then the rational part of her brain caught up and squashed the thought flat. “As…an apology gift, of course,” she laughed to herself. She scratched the back of her head and laughed more when she noticed a few ponies were now staring at her with raised eyebrows. She flashed her best smile at them, and then took off at a fast trot, leaving a few baffled onlookers behind her. 
That’s not a bad idea though, she thought as she trotted down the sidewalk. The yellow mare would certainly forgive Sea Swirl if the Unicorn brought her a nice gift too. She was from Canterlot, and Sea Swirl’s pieces were popular, so of course she would appreciate it. 
Now she just needed to decide what to make. Would Symphony look good in a necklace?  Would she prefer a choker, something tight around her elegant neck? Or would she want something loose that draped down her fur and followed the curves of her front? Maybe earrings were the way to go? Small ones that drew the eye to her soft ears but didn’t drown them out, hiding behind the lush purple mane that graced her head? Or long earrings that glittered through her mane and made ponies stop and stare in envy? 
Sea Swirl treated Symphony like a doll in her mind, constantly putting on one piece of jewelry as soon as she took another piece off. She kept going, making sure the pieces flattered her face but didn’t become the focus of it, as she walked down the street, her tail swishing happily behind her. 
“Maybe I should—” Sea Swirl came up short as her eyes spied a flash of yellow ahead. Her legs stiffened and her throat tensed to the point that air struggled to escape. She forced her eyes closed, and then tried twice as hard to open them. 
Symphony was walking out of a shop up ahead. The pony stepped onto the sidewalk and turned her head away from Sea Swirl. Her purple mane spilled down her neck in long waves and parted like velvet curtains at her shoulder blades. It began to flow across her body as she turned her head to look the other way down the street, and as her crystal blue eyes slowly revealed themselves, Sea Swirl had the horrifying feeling that the mare was about to look directly at her!
Sea Swirl sucked in a breath so fast that it caught in the back of her throat. She hacked and leaned forward, no doubt drawing more than a few judgmental stares from nearby ponies, but she was glad for the distraction. She could get her body to move now and Symphony hopefully hadn’t seen her staring like a—
“Hello,” a voice said as a pair of yellow hooves appeared on the sidewalk in front of Sea Swirl. 
Nuts!
“Uh…hi, Symphony,” Sea Swirl said. She raised her eyes so that she was looking up at the mare through her bangs. Thankfully, her gaze only reached the bottom of Symphony’s neck. “Fancy running into you here.”
“Did you drop something?”
“Nope!” Sea Swirl straightened herself instantly. Breathing was becoming harder with every second. Her fur was starting to itch on the backside of her legs, and her eyes were refusing to lower their gaze from the sky. 
“I see,” Symphony said, her voice cold. “Well…it was a pleasure.”
“Wait!” Sea Swirl shouted. Her hoof shot out and she had to struggle to stop it from reaching Symphony. She came up short just in front of the mare’s nose. The crystal blue eyes looked at the hoof, and then they locked with Sea Swirl’s.
Those two blue orbs, half covered with yellow lids, lined with striking lashes, gazed at Sea Swirl and threatened to devour her. 
“Yes?” Symphony finally asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice as she continued to stare. 
“Uh…” Shoot! What did I want to say? Sea Swirl’s eyes managed to tear themselves away from the blue spheres and that was when she saw what was around Symphony’s neck. “Is that new?” she asked as she adjusted her hoof to point toward the piece of clothing.
“Yes,” Symphony said as she looked down at her neck. A purple bowtie, the same shade as her mane, was tied around her neck with a white lace. It was pulled tight, pressing against her throat. Sea Swirl could see the muscles in the Earth pony’s neck pulse with each breath. Her throat pushed against it with each rush of air, threatening to tear the pure white fabric every time. 
“It, uh, looks nice,” the Unicorn said as she licked her lips. 
Symphony’s eyes opened a fraction more than normal. “Thank you,” she said after a moment. “I normally wear one.”
Sea Swirl gulped and tore her eyes from the bowtie and the tense neck behind it. “Really? I’ve never seen you wearing it.”
Symphony’s eyes shifted down for a split second. When they looked back up, they were filled with her normal hardness. “I lost my old one. I bought this one just now.”
Sea Swirl suspected she knew what had happened to the old bowtie by the look on Symphony’s face, so she decided not to press the issue. Instead, she finally remembered the reason why she had wanted to speak with Symphony in the first place.
“So, uh…did you have fun last weekend? Well, maybe not fun, but I hope it wasn’t too terrible. I mean, not that you said it was terrible! No! I mean I believe you when you said that you enjoyed yourself. I’m not calling you a liar or anything like that, but…” Sea Swirl took a deep breath and hung her head. “I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”
Symphony blinked once, her face still that perfect mask of Canterlot upper class. “I’m used to it. But yes, the trip was mostly pleasant.”
“Heh heh, yeah, about that…” Sea Swirl sat down on the sidewalk and rubbed the back of her neck. This was turning out to be a lot harder than she had imagined, and the fact that that dream was tearing through her mind wasn’t helping at all. 
“Did you not enjoy the trip?” Symphony asked, and Sea Swirl could hear the darkness creep into her voice. “Was I too much trouble for you? If having me there bothered you that much, I will leave right now and you will not have to worry about seeing me again.”
“No!” Sea Swirl pleaded, hoping that Symphony didn’t notice the desperation in her cry. “Like I said, I loved having you—er, I mean, I loved having you there! Really! If you hadn’t been there, I would have ended up sleeping on the beach. So, uh, thanks for letting me sleep in the bed with you. It was great!”
Symphony’s eyes went wide. “What?”
“Oops! I didn’t mean it like that! It wasn’t great because of that. We didn’t even do that—not that I’m saying you wouldn’t be great at it. I’m sure you would, but not that I know, right? Heh. We couldn’t do it anyway, since I was passed out. Besides, you don’t even like mares, right?”
“Excuse me?” 
“Uh, I think I’m going to just stop talking now. If I stuff any more of my hoof in my mouth, I’m going to choke to death.”
For a long time, the two mares stood on the sidewalk. Other ponies passed them, giving them nothing more than a quick glance, but to Sea Swirl it felt like each one was laughing at her. Symphony was probably ready to wring the life out of her herself. 
“You obviously want to say something,” Symphony said finally, shattering the silence. 
“I…wanted to apologize,” Sea Swirl said, forcing each word from her mouth. “Again.”
“For?”
“Uh…you know. That whole thing with the bed?”
“I was not about to toss you on the floor like some laundry,” Symphony replied in a huff. 
“No! What I mean is, well…you remember when we woke up, right?”
The color that flooded into Symphony’s yellow cheeks was all the answer Sea Swirl needed. 
Symphony had allowed Sea Swirl to share the bed at the inn with her. When Sea Swirl had awoken the next morning, her face had been nuzzled squarely in the Earth pony’s chest. Her forelegs had been wrapped around Symphony’s body like a filly, and she had wrapped her hind legs around one of Symphony’s legs. Symphony’s thigh had ended up pressing against a rather sensitive area on the Unicorn, and before consciousness had fully come, Sea Swirl had been enjoying the moment.
It hadn’t been until Symphony had tried to move her leg that Sea Swirl had woken up enough to have a coherent thought, and when she had, she had been mortified. She had let out a terrified yelp and pulled away so quickly that she had fallen out of the bed and smacked her head hard on the floor. The covers had come with her, and when she had tried to rise, they had tangled around her legs and hooves to the point where she had ended up bound on the floor and Symphony had had to come over and help her.
Sea Swirl hadn’t said a single word the entire time, and she had refused to even look Symphony in the eye until breakfast later that day, at which point she had spent the next hour apologizing over and over. 
Sea Swirl felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead as she recalled the memory. Worse, part of her mind was now wishing something very different had happened while she had been tied up on the floor, completely at Symphony’s mercy…
NO! Stop it! Sea Swirl viciously shook her head and forced herself to speak, if only to keep her thoughts in check. “Okay, here it goes. I’m sorry I snuggled up next to you like that. I didn’t mean to, honest. I’m also sorry about…that other thing I was doing. I wasn’t really awake and, well, I’m sorry.”
The color only seemed to grow brighter in Symphony’s cheeks with each word the Unicorn spoke.
Great. I’m making it worse. Good job, girl.
Symphony looked down for a moment, but when she looked up again, to Sea Swirl’s astonishment, a small smile was tugging at the corners of her lips. It vanished in the blink of an eye, but Sea Swirl was sure she saw it. 
“I told you, it was not that concerning,” Symphony said. “I…did not even realize you were next to me until your scream woke me.” Symphony’s ears twitched. “Honestly, I’m not surprised though. You did use me as a pillow on the trip there, too.”
Sea Swirl could only nod as she blushed. 
“As for the other thing...” Sea Swirl braced herself for the berating that she knew had to be coming. “I…found it rather amusing.”
“Huh?!” That wasn’t possible! How in Equestria could she find what Sea Swirl had been doing amusing?
“Yes,” Symphony continued. “Did you not?”
“Er, I don’t think that’s the word I would have chosen, no.”
“Well, I did. You snarled up in the bed covers on the floor, looking like a caught puppy, was highly entertaining.”
Sea Swirl opened her mouth to protest. They were clearly thinking about two very different things. But then a thought crossed her mind. Did Symphony really not know? For Sea Swirl, it had been painfully obvious, but that was because it was her own body. That didn’t mean that Symphony had felt it, and if she had been asleep like she said, then it was very possible that Sea Swirl’s motion hadn’t been enough to disturb her.
Besides, it had just been a little bit of unconscious grinding. It wasn’t like she had been actively awake and trying…
Sea Swirl decided that if Symphony didn’t know, then she would let the matter die right there. The last thing she wanted to do was tell the pony that she had been using her thigh like that while she had been asleep. Best case, Symphony would smack her so hard she’d lose a tooth and the mare would never speak to her again. 
“Yeah, uh…that was pretty embarrassing for me,” Sea Swirl said with a laugh that she hoped didn’t sound too forced. “Anyway, like I said, sorry about snuggling you. And screaming in your face. And yanking all the covers off. Can I make—”
Symphony’s crystal blue eyes went wide and she began to back up. A look of panic threatened to smash her normally calm demeanor as she stepped away from the Unicorn. 
“Symphony?”
“Um…” Symphony’s eyes were no longer looking at Sea Swirl. They were focused on something behind the pony. “I…just remembered! I, uh…have to go take care of something.”
Sea Swirl looked over her shoulder, trying to spot whatever it was that had frightened Symphony. All she saw was the usual crowd on the streets of the city. “Symphony is everything—hey!”
Symphony had already turned around and was walking quickly in the other direction. “My apologies, Sea Swirl. I must hurry!”
“But!” Symphony broke into a run. “Um, can you stop by tomorrow?” Sea Swirl called after her. 
The Earth pony raised a yellow hoof, but she did not look back as she ran down the street and disappeared. 
“That was weird.” The only time Sea Swirl had ever seen Symphony panic like that had been when the mare had seen the ocean. But they weren’t near any bodies of water right now, so what in Celestia’s name could have spooked her so badly? 
Sea Swirl looked over her shoulder again, but she still saw nothing out of the ordinary. All she saw were ponies dressed in fancy gowns or tailored suits as they went about their business. None of them seemed to be paying a sliver of attention to Sea Swirl.
A flash of white above the crowd caught Sea Swirl’s eye. The only reason she noticed it was because it looked so out of place in the sea of pony fashion. She cocked her head and stood up on the tips of her hooves, hoping to get a better luck. Surely she had imagined it. No pony in their right mind would wear that hat in Canterlot.
Just as Sea Swirl was positive that she had imagined the whole thing, she saw the flash of white again. This time, she was certain of what she saw. 
Somewhere in the middle of the throng of ponies, somepony was wearing a white cowboy hat. That was unheard of in the middle of Canterlot. 
It wasn’t that Sea Swirl didn’t like the hat—after all, Applejack was always wearing hers in Ponyville and Sea Swirl thought it looked fine on her—but she was well aware of the fact that the fashion wasn’t exactly popular in Canterlot. Either this pony wasn’t from the city and thus didn’t know, or care, about Canterlot’s brutal judgmental fashion, or they had lost a bet. 
Sea Swirl shrugged the curious sight away and turned to begin her walk back home, but then she heard somepony calling out. “Oh, excuse me! Miss Unicorn!”
Sea Swirl made a face at the sound of the voice. The pony certainly wasn’t from Canterlot, not with that accent. She sounded more country that Applejack, if that was even possible. She smiled to herself and began her walk home without turning around. 
“Hey, you! The Unicorn with the purple tail! Hold up, will ya?”
Sea Swirl reeled in surprise. That pony was calling to her? Baffled, she turned around and pointed to herself with her hoof. 
“Yeah, you!” the pony called as she jumped above the crowd and waved. “Give me a sec, would you? We’re almost there!” 
Sea Swirl remained off to the side, out of the way of other ponies, and waited for the pony to reach her. A few moments later she appeared, and Sea Swirl’s eyebrows shot up. 
A yellow Earth pony walked up to her with a smile on her face that almost rivaled Pinkie Pie’s. She had a smooth, thick mane that was the deepest shade of sapphire and her eyes were colored like the sky. Her tail was as straight and rich as her mane, but it was wild, with several strands splitting away in a manner that only added to her country look. She had a rustic beauty that came from living outdoors and farm work, but it was what she was wearing that made her stand out so much.
Besides her hat, which kept her mane out of her face, this pony wore a simple lime-green shirt that was beyond frayed at the edges. She had an orange sash tied around her slender waist with its two ends dangling playfully in the air. A matching bandana was around her neck, causing Sea Swirl to smack her lips together as she looked at it.
Whoever this pony was, so was so far out of place in Canterlot that odds were she was the focus of many lunchtime meals. 
“Hi!” the pony said as she approached, her eyes wide and gleaming as she waved her hoof. 
“Hello…?” Sea Swirl offered in reply. She had no idea why a pony who could give Applejack a run for her bits was talking to her. She was fairly certain she had never met this mare. “May I help you?”
“Yep! Me and B.B. were—”
“B.B.?” Sea Swirl cocked her head to the side. She didn’t recognize that name either. 
“Yeah, she’s right—oh.” The mare turned, revealing a blue cutie mark that Sea Swirl was fairly certain was some sort of musical thing, and looked back at the crowd. “Where did she go? She was right behind me.”
“Fiddle! I told you to wait!” a voice called from the crowd.
“Sorry B.B.! Honest!”
Sea Swirl watched the flow of ponies on the sidewalk, keeping an eye out for another country pony, but she saw none. It wasn’t until she noticed a pony making her way toward her and the strange mare that she realized this was who B.B. probably was.
B.B. did look like she belonged in Canterlot. She had a sky blue coat that was expertly groomed, and a pair of eyes that were a shade of amethyst. Her dirty brown mane was in a style that that Sea Swirl had never seen, rising up on her head like a wave and then coming down in a motion that brought the word ‘swoosh’ to mind. She had a strange cutie mark that was the same shade as her eyes. Once again, Sea Swirl was fairly certain it was music related. That belief was reinforced by the fact that B.B. was carrying what appeared to be a violin case on her back.
And around her neck was a bowtie, exactly like Symphony’s in ever way except the bow was pink, not purple. 
Sweet Celestia, why is everypony wearing something around their necks all of a sudden? After that dream, I’m going to lose it!
“You took off running through that crowd like a crazy pony!” B.B. said as she walked up. “There was no way I could keep up with you in that mess!”
“I saw her though!” Fiddle pleaded. “Honest!”
B.B. growled. “If you say so. I still think this is a waste of time.”
“I did see her! Didn’t I?” Fiddle looked at Sea Swirl, her eyes wide with hope.
“Er…I don’t really…” Sea Swirl looked at the two ponies, her mind racing. She was positive she had never met Fiddle before. She would have remembered a pony this different. But she wasn’t so sure about B.B. Had this Earth pony come into her shop before? Was that how they knew her?
B.B.’s eyes looked at Sea Swirl and the mare blinked as if she had just noticed the Unicorn standing there. Then a warm smile came to her lips and she shook her head. “She didn’t introduce herself, did she?”
“Um…no,” Sea Swirl said, blushing a little. “Do I know either of you?”
“I apologize for my marefriend,” B.B. said. Sea Swirl looked at Fiddle and caught the quick blush in her face before she pulled her hat down to cover it. “She gets so focused sometimes that she forgets other stuff.”
“My name is Fiddlesticks,” the yellow mare said from behind her hat. 
“And I’m Beauty Brass,” the other mare said as she offered her hoof. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss…?”
“Oh, just Sea Swirl,” Sea Swirl said as she shook Beauty Brass’ hoof.
“B.B. is my marefriend,” Fiddlesticks added as she came out from under her hat. A heartfelt smile was blazing on her face as she spoke.
“Finally admitting it willingly, huh?” Beauty Brass teased.
Fiddlesticks’ face once again disappeared with an adorable squeak. 
“So, uh…can I do something for you two?” Sea Swirl asked.
Beauty Brass looked around for a moment and then shook her head. “I’m afraid not. Fiddlesticks thought she saw somepony she’s—”
“We’ve,” Fiddlesticks corrected.
Beauty Brass rolled her eyes. “We’ve been looking for, but I don’t see her. She probably just saw your hair color and thought you were her. Sorry to trouble you.”
“I did not!” Fiddlesticks protested, stomping her hoof. “It was her! Purple man, yellow fur!”
“Symphony?” Sea Swirl asked in surprise. Did these two ponies know Symphony?
“See?” Fiddlesticks said, a triumphant smile spreading across her face. “Told you, B.B. She was just here, right, Sea Swirl?”
“Uh, yeah,” Sea Swirl answered. She felt like she was entering a game without knowing all the rules, but part of her was excited. If these two actually knew Symphony, than maybe Sea Swirl could finally learn some things about the mare! “You just missed her, actually. She took off just before you got here. She seemed like she was in quite a…hurry…”
A thought slowly began to creep into Sea Swirl’s mind. She recalled how terrified Symphony had been a moment ago, and how the two had first met.
Sea Swirl narrowed her eyes slightly and raised her guard a little.
Fiddlesticks turned and glared at Beauty Brass. “It’s your fault she ran!”
“My fault?” Beauty Brass asked. “You’re the one that was jumping up and down like a filly, trying to see over the crowds. She probably saw you first and bolted.”
“If you hadn’t hit her then—”
Sea Swirl remembered the bruise on Symphony’s face when she had pulled her from the water. 
“It was you!” The Unicorn lunged forward so fast that Fiddlesticks jumped and Beauty Brass nearly tripped. “You did it! How could you? You two tried to kill her! Well I’m not letting you try again! I’m calling the Guard right now!”
Fiddlesticks gasped and her mouth hung open. Beauty Brass blinked several times, but then she recovered and met Sea Swirl’s raging gaze. “Kill her?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”
“The cliff! The waterfall!” Sea Swirl shouted, but the look of confusion on both the mares’ faces was slowly ebbing away her confidence. “You beat her and then you tossed her off the cliff outside of Canterlot.”
Fiddlesticks eyes, which Sea Swirl had been certain could not grow any wider, threatened to pop out of her face at the accusation. Beauty Brass’ narrowed slightly. 
“We did no such thing,” the sky colored pony said. “That mare is a bitc—”
“B.B.!”
“That mare is a brat, through and through,” Beauty Brass continued with a look at Fiddlesticks. “And I’m not sorry I hit her. But we would never even think of doing something like what you said.”
Sea Swirl’s blood boiled at the insults directed at Symphony, both spoken and unspoken, but part of her knew Beauty Brass was telling the truth—about Symphony being difficult, not her denial of the crime. She still wasn’t ready to fully believe that these ponies hadn’t had anything to do with Symphony’s near death. 
“Tell me what happened then,” Sea Swirl said darkly. “Or I will call the Guard.”
“We don’t know!” Fiddlesticks said. “The last time we saw her, she was in tears and ran off. Honest!”
“She was screaming about how Fiddlesticks ruined her life,” Beauty Brass said, then she looked at Fiddlesticks. “Right after she smashed your violin on the ground.”
“We’ve been trying to find her so we could give her back hers,” Fiddlesticks said. She reached over and pulled the violin case off of Beauty Brass. She popped it open and showed the instrument to Sea Swirl. “They got swapped at the talent show, and…she seemed really upset. I thought I could apologize to her when I gave hers back. I tried when we found her playing music on the corner, but…”
“Fiddle, you don’t owe her an apology. If anything, she owes you one. Several actually,” Beauty Brass said.
Sea Swirl’s blood turned to ice in her veins as she looked at the instrument in the case. She reached out to touch the violin with her hoof, because she was shaking so bad that she wasn’t sure she could stabilize her magic. 
Symphony had asked why Sea Swirl had saved her when they had first met. She had asked the same question when Sea Swirl had told her that she had carried her up the mountain. When Sea Swirl had asked about her cutie mark and whether she played anything, she had responded with a curt no, as if the very thought of music caused her pain. Sea Swirl had thought all those things odd at the time, but she had brushed them off as nothing more than the results of trauma. Now, though, she feared she knew the truth.
No pony had thrown Symphony from the cliff.
Sea Swirl gulped. “I…see,” was all she could manage to say. Judging by the looks on Fiddlesticks and Beauty Brass’ faces, they had come to the same conclusion she just had. 
“Well, I’m glad she has a friend here,” Fiddlesticks said in a cracked voice. “Can you give it to her? I’m pretty sure she’ll just run away again if we try it.”
“I…don’t know where she lives,” Sea Swirl said. She was still busy trying to wrap her mind around what she suspected. Why hadn’t Symphony told her? Sure, they weren’t super close, but…
“Her address is inside the case,” Beauty Brass said, shaking Sea Swirl out of her thoughts. “We tried her home over the weekend, but she wasn’t there.”
“No,” Sea Swirl said. “We were at the beach.” She continued to stare at the violin. She closed its case and took it from Fiddlesticks. “I’ll give it to her.”
“Thanks,” Fiddlesticks said. “Um…look. Tell her that I am really sorry, and B.B. is too.”
“Am not.” 
“Don’t believe her. Anyway, nice meeting you. Um…good luck with…stuff.” Fiddlesticks tipped her hat and turned to leave. Beauty Brass looked at the violin case and then at Sea Swirl. She nodded once and then followed Fiddlesticks back into the crowd.
Sea Swirl stood there for a long time, staring at the case floating in front of her. Her chest felt hollow, and her legs threatened to collapse under her weight. It was taking every part of her will to hold the case. She had known that Symphony had been keeping something about the cliff meeting to herself, but Sea Swirl had no idea that it had been this bad. 
“Symphony…” She popped the case open, lifting the lid to reveal the wooden instrument. She didn’t know much about music or instruments, so she couldn’t tell if the violin was good, but it looked fine to her. The bow was nestled on top of it, and some of the strings looked a little worn to the Unicorn’s eye.
Slowly, she pulled the instrument out and looked underneath. There, on the bottom of the case, was an address along with Symphony’s name. Sea Swirl knew she could find the place. She put the violin back and then began to make her way to Symphony’s home.
As she walked, she tried to think of something, anything, to say to the mare, but the words refused to come.


*                                                  *                                                  *


Sea Swirl found herself standing outside of an apartment complex. It was in a lesser district of Canterlot, and it showed. It wasn’t a bad place by any stretch, but she could tell instantly that this was where ponies who didn’t have deep pockets lived. There was no flare for elegance anywhere. The paint was a plain tan color with white trim, and the shrubs were trimmed into simple cubes instead of some crazy design. The few ponies she had seen coming and going hadn’t been dressed head to hoof in fancy clothes, but in regular dresses or shirts. They were definitely Canterlot folk, but they weren’t the upper echelon that Sea Swirl normally saw. 
“This is where she lives?” Sea Swirl whispered as she stared at the place. She had assumed Symphony lived in a nice home, or at least in one of the many fancy apartments in the city. After all, the mare certainly carried herself and talked like she belonged in such a place. 
“Can I help you?” a pony asked. Sea Swirl looked in the direction of the voice and saw a brown stallion with a red mane walking over to her. He had broad shoulders, but the smile on his face was friendly. 
“Oh, I’m just…looking,” Sea Swirl said. 
The stallion nodded. “It’s not the grandest place in Canterlot, I’ll admit. But I do my best to make sure it’s kept up and presentable. The rate’s cheaper here too, if you’re interested.”
“Oh no, no thank you,” Sea Swirl said. “I was just…looking for somepony. I believe she lives here.”
The stallion cocked his head and looked at the case Sea Swirl was carrying. “It wouldn’t happen to be Symphony, would it?”
“How did you know?” Sea Swirl turned to the stallion, surprised that he had figured it out.
“I’ve seen her carrying a violin around before, although not lately.” The stallion scratched his chin and smiled. “You play with her or something?”
“Are you kidding?” Sea Swirl laughed. “I couldn’t even play one of those musical triangle things. No, I was just, um…hoping to give this to her.”
“That’s odd,” the stallion said.
“Why?”
“Well, you’re the third pony to come looking for her in as many days,” the stallion continued. “The other two looked like musical folks, so I figured you were one too. Symphony’s never had visitors the entire time she’s lived her.”
“None?” Sea Swirl asked, shocked. 
“None. At least, none I’ve ever seen. I’m glad she finally paid her rent, because I would have been really worried if I had had to kick her out all on her own.”
“Oh, yeah,” Sea Swirl said with a smile, but she could feel the sweat breaking out on the back of her neck. “Um, say…it’s probably none of my business, but…how did she pay?”
“With a pearl,” the stallion answered. “Covered her whole rent, plus her late fees, and she still had some bits left over. Not much, but enough that she was able to buy some decent food for once. I saw her bringing the groceries home the other day.”
“Oh,” was all Sea Swirl could say. 
“Yeah, I was kind of worried that she might have stolen it,” the stallion added, completely missing the look of despair on Sea Swirl’s face. “I mean, I don’t usually see gems of that value here.”
Sea Swirl swallowed and lowered her head. “I can assure you she didn’t steal it.”
The stallion looked at her with a puzzled expression, but then he shrugged. “Well, wherever she got it, I hope she can get more. Poor girl’s always struggled to make ends meet. I’ve given her as many breaks as I can, but I’m not running a charity here.”
I...really don’t know anything about her.
Sea Swirl thought of the gift she had wanted to make for Symphony. She had been sure the mare would have loved it, whether it was a pair of earrings or a necklace, but now the idea seemed shallow. She would probably end up selling it just to pay her rent. She didn’t need fancy jewelry, she need—
Sea Swirl straightened as she got an idea. That was it! She knew how she could help! She immediately turned and began to rush back to her home. 
“Hey!” the stallion called. “Didn’t you want to give her that violin?”
“I’ll give it to her tomorrow!” Sea Swirl shouted over her shoulder as she ran. She didn’t know Symphony as well as she wanted to. In fact, she now realized she knew her even less than she had thought. But she was certain she knew one thing about the mare; she was stubborn. If Sea Swirl had just offered to pay her rent, the mare would probably refuse, or worse, never speak to her again. 
No, free bits, jewelry, gems, and stones weren’t the answer. The mare’s pride wouldn’t allow it. If Sea Swirl wanted to help her, she was going to have to be crafty about it, and she had a pretty good idea of where to start. 
	
> Interspecies Relation(ship)s
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sea Swirl’s slender body disappeared beneath the water without a sound. Symphony watched her tail vanish before she sat down on the shoreline. They were back at the lake where they had first meant, after Symphony had insisted that returning was perfectly fine. 
As she sat on the sand, the pony wondered how her life had come to such a point. She was supposed to be the talk of Canterlot now. She was supposed to be more famous than even Octavia. She had even dared to dream that the Royal Sisters would be coming to her, asking her to play at the Grand Galloping Gala, or even for a private party. She had had it all planned out so perfectly. 
“So why am I nothing more than a glorified pack mule?” she grumbled as she dug her yellow hoof into the sand. 
Sea Swirl had offered Symphony a job. She had said that, with Hearth’s Warming coming up in a month, she was going to be rather busy. Symphony had pointed out that she knew nothing of Sea Swirl’s jewelry craft and she was no diver either, so how could she possibly help? The answer, it seemed, was manual labor. Symphony was supposed to help Sea Swirl pull her carts to and from the lake at the bottom of Canterlot’s mountain.
Symphony was loath to accept the job. Even now, she was still upset with it. A high-class pony such as herself, reduced to pulling a cart. It was beyond embarrassing. It was humiliating, even more so because she was working for a Unicorn now. If she had not been in such dire straights, she would have flatly refused to be put in such a demeaning situation. But with her violin gone, she had no other way to support herself, and Sea Swirl offered to pay a ridiculously generous amount. 
Plus, at least Symphony got to spend time with Sea Swirl. If she was going to be forced to work for a Unicorn, she could do much worse than the one currently swimming beneath the lake. 
Symphony sighed and tilted her head back. Her crystal blue eyes follow the waterfall up the mountainside until she spied the cliff. It had only been a little over a month since she had stepped off that cliff, but it felt like it had been a year. As she stared up at it, she wondered why she hadn’t simply jumped off it again later. After all, it wasn’t like Sea Swirl would have been there to save her every single time. Eventually, Symphony would have succeeded. 
Sea Swirl wouldn’t be happy though, she thought. She immediately blinked in surprise at the curious thought.
Memories of the night in the bed together rushed into Symphony’s mind. She had not told Sea Swirl the truth. She had been awake. She had been awake for a while. She had felt the Unicorn embrace her, and she had—
“No!” Symphony said as she shoved the memories as hard as she could from her mind. They had no place in her life, and they were simply better left buried and forgotten. 
As Symphony stared up at the waterfall, she caught a flash of motion. She blinked and focused her eyes. There appeared to be two Pegasi racing down the waterfall, flying so close to it that they were skimming the fall’s edge. 
“What are they doing?” Symphony wondered aloud as she watched the two ponies. She had never seen any Pegasi do something like this. And what had they done to their tails? They were so thin, not fluffed and flowing like normal. Perhaps it was a special technique to help them fly faster?
The trailing pony flared her wings and Symphony’s eyes widened in surprise. These weren’t ponies. They were griffons. Why were there griffons here? 
The questions fled from Symphony’s mind as the lead griffon dove into the water like a bird. Sea Swirl was in the water. Was that griffon going after her? Was the other griffon going to come after Symphony? 
Terrified, she looked over at the remaining creature. The griffon slowly floated down onto the shoreline a short distance away. She was clad in black armor and her head was covered in white feathers with spotted tips. She looked at Symphony and nodded once, but then returned her focus to the water. 
Symphony was about to ask the griffon what was happening when the surface of the lake exploded. The second griffon shot out of the water with Sea Swirl in her talons! Symphony watched helplessly as the Unicorn was pulled higher and higher into the sky and then, to her horror, the griffon let her go!
Symphony nearly screamed, but the only thing that happened was that her mouth fell open in disbelief. 
Sea Swirl spun in the air, not like a dancer, but like a top. She pulled her forelegs in close to her body as she rose like a firework. Droplets of water flew from her body and caught the sun in a dazzling display of color. As she reached the apex of her climb, she flared her body out and sent one final flash of water through the air, and then started to fall.
The Unicorn tucked her upper body forward so that she flipped into a perfect dive as she plunged. The griffon mirrored her dive perfectly, and Symphony watched as Sea Swirl put her hoof out and the griffon pulled her into an embrace. They began to spin together, falling toward the water like a drill, and Symphony felt a small amount of…something creep through her stomach as she watched the display.
Just before the couple crashed into the water, the griffon flared her wings and grabbed Sea Swirl’s forelegs. The two skimmed just above the surface of the lake as they flew toward Symphony on the shore, and Symphony couldn’t help but notice that a warm smile was gracing Sea Swirl’s lips. 
The griffon dropped Sea Swirl on the shore and then landed next to her. Sea Swirl instantly spun around and wrapped her forelegs around the griffon’s neck. 
She must know her, Symphony thought. She wasn’t sure why the thought annoyed her, but as she watched the two embrace, her tail swished slowly across the ground. 
“It’s so good to see you again!” Sea Swirl said as she hugged the black-headed griffon. “What are you doing in Canterlot? Official Inner Wing duties, I take it?”
“Nice to see you again, Sea Swirl,” the griffon replied. The two pulled out of their hug, but Symphony noticed that Sea Swirl kept her hooves on the griffon’s shoulders for a bit. “And yeah. I’m one of the King’s escorts, but we have some free time at the moment so…”
The griffon trailed off mid-sentence as she stared at Sea Swirl.
“Hmph,” Symphony grumbled to herself as she watched. 
“And…what?” Sea Swirl asked, a playful tone entering her voice that only annoyed Symphony more. Why was Sea Swirl being so nice to this creature? “You came down to watch me swim again?”
Again? Symphony thought. What does that mean? 
“N-No!” the griffon protested. “I-I promised to, uh…get one of your pearl necklaces for my friend here.” The griffon turned and waved to the other griffon.
“You’re Yukari’s friend?” Sea Swirl asked as she used her magic to wring some of the water out of her tail. Symphony found herself staring at the display, wondering if the Unicorn had always done it that slowly. “My name’s Sea Swirl. What’s yours?”
The griffon with the spotted feathers was practically prancing across the shoreline as she approached the group, and the smile on her beak was nothing short of malicious in Symphony’s opinion. 
“Why hello, Sea Swirl,” the griffon said as she offered her talon, and Sea Swirl didn’t hesitate to shake it. “I’m Shana. A pleasure to meet you.” 
“You’re in the Inner Wing too then?” Sea Swirl asked. “You’ve been keeping Yukari out of trouble, right?”
Symphony was surprised by how familiar Sea Swirl seemed to be with griffons and their ways, and apparently so was Shana, because the grin vanished from her face for a moment.
“Um…yeah. Yes, I’m Yukari’s wing mate on most missions. I’m…uh, surprised you’ve heard of it.”
“Are you kidding?” Sea Swirl asked, her voice sounding like an excited filly’s. “It was all Yukari would talk about when we were—er, when she used to visit.” 
The grin returned to Shana’s beak instantly and Symphony had a growing suspicion that she knew what was really happening. The only question that remained was why she found the thought so annoying. 
“Did she now?” Shana asked as she slowly looked between Sea Swirl and Yukari. “Because that’s supposed to be a secret. She basically committed treason by telling you about the organization.”
Symphony saw Sea Swirl’s shoulders stiffen. 
“She’s teasing you, Sea Swirl,” Yukari replied, shooting a look at Shana. “It’s not different than the Royal Guard in Canterlot.”
Sea Swirl relaxed. “Whew…you got me there, Shana.”
“Yes, well, I suppose it’s common for a couple to share their dreams with each other…”
Symphony’s tail snapped against the ground. 
“Shana!” Yukari yelled.
“What? No, we’re not a couple,” Sea Swirl laughed as she rubbed the back of her head.
She’s ignoring me! Symphony thought as the annoyance grew in her chest. What, am I too much of an embarrassment for her to introduce? Well, too bad!
“Excuse me?” Symphony said flatly, and all three heads turned to her. 
Sea Swirl’s cheeks were bright red, and they only seemed to grow brighter when she saw Symphony. “Oh, hey, Symphony. This is Yukari. And her friend, Shana.”
“Charmed,” Symphony said as she glared at the two griffons. How dare Sea Swirl just try to brush her off like this? What, as soon as the Unicorn’s old flame flew back into town, she didn’t matter anymo—
Symphony physically jerked as the thought screeched to a halt in her mind. Why in Equestria did she think she mattered to Sea Swirl in the first place?
Stunned by the bizarre thought, Symphony said the first thing that popped into her mind to cover her stumble. “I was not aware that you date a…griffon.”
“Is that a problem, pony?” Shana asked. 
Symphony recoiled from the griffon’s tone. “No. No, it’s not. I just thought…” What? What did I think? Symphony grew frustrated and narrowed her eyes. “Never mind.”
Sea Swirl looked at Symphony and the look in her raspberry eyes only served to annoy Symphony more. “Symphony, I—”
“Relax, Symphony,” Yukari said with a smile. “I’m not here to steal your marefriend. Honestly, Sea Swirl and I are just old friends.”
Symphony’s crystal blue eyes shot to Sea Swirl. She found it impossible to speak because her throat had swollen shut. She felt like she had when she had first laid eyes on the ocean. 
Sea Swirl, for her part, looked just as terrified, and for some reason that twisted something in Symphony’s chest just enough to hurt. 
“She is not my marefriend,” she said finally. She saw Sea Swirl’s ears droop just a hair, and that only served to twist Symphony’s chest more. 
“Uh, yeah, Yukari,” Sea Swirl said as she turned away from Symphony and back to the two griffons. “Symphony’s just a friend of mine. Like you. We’re not a couple.”
She…thinks of me as a friend? Symphony felt a smile come to her lips with the thought, but at the same time her chest twisted a little more. She pushed it aside and allowed the smile to spread. She had a friend. 
“If you say so, Sea Swirl,” Yukari said as she looked at Sea Swirl and then shot a quick glance at Symphony, and the pony swore that the griffon smiled at her briefly. 
“So about that necklace…?” Shana said once the silence had become too much for any of them. 
Sea Swirl seemed to snap back to life at the griffon’s words. “Oh yeah!”
“Yukari promised to show me a really pretty one…as a present.” 
The life seemed to fade out of Sea Swirl again and Symphony growled in her throat. 
“Oh,” the Unicorn said. “I assume you want a pearl one, right? Those ones make the best…gifts.” 
Symphony found the idea of Sea Swirl giving either of these griffons a pearl necklace repulsive. What business did they have wearing one of her pieces on their clunky armor? They wouldn’t appreciate it. 
Not like I did either, Symphony immediately thought as she recalled that she had sold hers to pay her rent. It was strange. The thought had never bothered her before now. 
“Sea Swirl, you don’t—” Yukari started, but Sea Swirl paid her no mind. 
“I have one in my pack right now, actually,” she said as she walked over to her satchel. Symphony watched her go, and then turned to the two griffons. They were whispering to each other and seemed to be arguing about something. 
“I doubt Sea Swirl will accept your money,” Symphony said. She kept looking at Yukari, studying the griffon’s dark feathers on her head. What had Sea Swirl seen in this creature? “She is too nice. Since you’re her friend, she’ll likely just give it to you…” 
Like she did with me, she added silently. 
“Jealous, Miss Glaring Eyes?” Shana asked, that malicious smile spreading across her face again. 
“Hmph. O-Of course not!” Why would Symphony be jealous of Yukari? Just because she and Sea Swirl used to be close? So what? That was none of Symphony’s concern. 
“Here you go, Yukari,” Sea Swirl said when she came back. She was levitating a stunning pearl necklace, and Symphony felt a dark anger growing in her stomach. Why was Sea Swirl going to waste such a lovely necklace on Yukari? 
“How much?” Yukari whispered.
“Oh, consider it a gift,” Sea Swirl said. Symphony heard the Unicorn’s voice crack as she spoke the words. “You said you were giving it to Shana, and I couldn’t possibly take your bits for it.”
Symphony glared at Sea Swirl. She had been right, of course. Sea Swirl was going to refuse payment just because this griffon was a friend. How had she managed to survive in Canterlot so long with business sense like this? 
“Sea Swirl, I can’t—”
“Actually, Sea Swirl,” Shana interrupted as she stepped between Sea Swirl and Yukari. She pulled a small pouch out from under her armor. “I said nothing about Yukari buying me one. I just said that she promised to show me one. I’ll be buying it, not her.”
Sea Swirl looked shocked as she looked back and forth between the two griffons. “But I thought…”
“What?” Shana asked, smiling. “You thought I was dating this featherbrain? Please. She couldn’t afford me. So how much?”
Symphony rolled her eyes, but part of her thanked Shana. She was happy that the Unicorn seemed to be back to her plucky self.
“Well, since you’re a friend of Yukari’s…how about fifty bits?” Sea Swirl asked.
Symphony sighed quietly. 
“For something that nice?” Shana replied, shocked. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I can’t possibly give you that little.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sea Swirl said. “I was actually collecting more when you two showed up. And Symphony and I are going to the ocean this weekend to get more from the sea. That’s where I find the really white ones. Right, Symphony?”
Symphony’s ears perked up as Sea Swirl turned to her. This was the first she had heard about returning to the ocean again, and thus she suspected Sea Swirl had just decided that on the spot, but the idea still excited her. The beach had been rather pleasant at night, and maybe they could share a bed again and—
“Yes,” Symphony said, shoving the thought from her mind. Why did she keep thinking about that? It wasn’t her, and it didn’t mean anything. 
“I can’t give you any less than sixty-five for that necklace, Sea Swirl,” Shana said as she pulled out the bits. “And I still feel it’s worth three times that.”
“More than that,” Symphony said as she looked at the pearl necklace. It looked at least as valuable as the one Sea Swirl had given her. “Much more.”
“Not helping, Miss Glaring Eyes,” Shana grumbled. 
Symphony watched with narrowed eyes as Sea Swirl slipped the necklace over Shana’s neck and then slid the bits into her satchel. “So how long are you going to be in Canterlot?” she asked as she stood next to Symphony. “Any chance you two could come over for dinner? Symphony is going to cook.”
Symphony recoiled inside. She had offered to cook a small meal for Sea Swirl tonight as a way of repaying her for everything. She had warned the Unicorn that she was not the greatest cook, but Sea Swirl had been delighted nonetheless, which had made Symphony happy. 
The thought that these two griffons would be there sucked all the joy out of the idea. 
“I’m sorry, Sea Swirl, but I don’t think we’ll be staying that long,” Yukari said, and Symphony’s spirits lifted. “In fact, we should probably start heading back to Canterlot now.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Sea Swirl said, much to Symphony’s annoyance. “Well, next time then.”
“Sure. It was nice meeting you, Symphony.”
“Take care, Miss Glaring Eyes,” Shana added as she rose into the sky. Symphony growled as she watched the creature take her leave. “Thank you for the gift, Sea Swirl.”
“Take care, Sea Swirl,” Yukari said as she, too, took off. “I’ll write you when I get back home. Maybe we can set up a some time for me to come visit.”
Please don’t. Symphony was surprised at how fast the thought jumped into her head.
“Sounds great!” Sea Swirl called as she waved her hoof. Symphony looked at her. Her face was beaming and her eyes brighter than Symphony had ever seen them. She was standing on the tips of her hooves as she waved, as if she was trying to reach out and touch the griffon one last time. She looked so happy. 
So why was Symphony feeling a little down because of it? It wasn’t like Sea Swirl was leaving with her and thus Symphony would lose her only friend and source of income. 
Why is she coming back? Symphony wondered as Yukari slowly flew back down to them after a moment. 
“Um…something wrong?” Sea Swirl asked, but to Symphony’s surprise, the griffon looked straight at Symphony and not Sea Swirl.
“Symphony. Sea Swirl likes to be choked when you kiss her. Remember that.”
Symphony lacked the words to describe how she felt. All she knew was that her face hurt and that she was suddenly keenly aware of the fact that her cheeks were covered with fur. And she felt hot. Very hot. So hot that her mind plowed to a halt for several seconds before it remembered how to speak. 
“What?!” she shouted, although the effort only made her cheeks itch more. “I would never!”
“You should,” Yukari said as a grin spread across her beak. “It leads to some very…intense experiences.”
“Yukari!” Sea Swirl yelled, and then she turned to Symphony, her eyes wide. “I do not! Symphony, she’s lying!”
As Symphony looked at the two raspberry shaded eyes, the panic in them told her that the Unicorn wasn’t being truthful. 
“Oh really?” Yukari continued before Symphony’s mind had a chance to process the information. The griffon waved her tail in front of Sea Swirl’s face like a serpent while she grinned. “I seem to remember wrapping my tail around your throat and other things several times…”
“S-S-Shut up!” Sea Swril dove at the griffon, but Yukari was too fast. She leapt into the air and the Unicorn hit the sandy ground face first. 
“Remember, Symphony. Choking. And I mean really choke her.” Yukari turned and left, and Symphony could only stare in shock as her words echoed in her head. 
“YUKARI!” Sea Swirl screamed as she picked herself up. For half a moment, Symphony thought the Unicorn was going to launch a spell at the griffon, but then she seemed to remember that Symphony was right there and her anger was drowned by embarrassment. 
Symphony stared at her employer, watching her red eyes dart around as her wet mane clung to her scalp. Her entire face was so red that it was almost a dark violet, and she kept licking her lips and flipping her ears. Several times she tried to speak, but only ended up kicking the ground in frustration. 
On one kick, she dislodged some water from her mane and Symphony watched the droplet. It traced the curve of Sea Swirl’s jaw for a moment, and then it began to flow down her throat. About halfway, Symphony lost track of it and just stared at Sea Swirl’s throat. 
She likes to be choked, she thought. A moment later, she blinked. Why would that griffon tell me that? She’s the one that…that did that stuff! And we’re not even dating! 
“So…” Sea Swirl finally managed to squeak out.  She swallowed and then continued. “That was Yukari.”
Symphony blinked several times, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of Sea Swirl’s neck. She wondered what it was like, and why Sea Swirl liked it. Wouldn’t she be too worried about breathing to enjoy the kiss? What if Symphony pressed too hard and hurt her? And what sort of intense experiences happened? Did it make Sea Swirl’s magic go out of control, or did something else happen?
And why in sweet Celestia’s good name am I wondering about ANY of this? Symphony thought bitterly. She was not a filly fooler! She was a proper Canterlot lady! Just because they had shared a bed one night and Sea Swirl had gotten a little comfy with her didn’t mean anything! Sea Swirl could enjoy all the females she wanted, but Symphony wouldn’t be one of them, of that she was certain. 
Still, she continued to wonder about what exactly happened when Sea Swirl was choked.
“Heh heh.” Sea Swirl kicked the ground again and then stomped on it so hard that Symphony jumped. “Stupid griffon!” she yelled as she stomped on the sand again and again. “Urgh! I swear, next time I see her, she won’t be flying away! She’ll be carried away—if she’s lucky!”
Tears began to fill Sea Swirl’s eyes. Symphony wasn’t sure what surprised her more; the tears, or the fact that seeing them made her upset. She shook the feeling away and tried to think of something to say. 
“Were you two close?” she asked finally, and immediately realized how stupid the question was. Of course they were close.  Just seeing their water and air dance was enough to know that. 
“Very,” Sea Swirl said as she stared at the ground. A single tear fell from her eyes and Symphony found herself wanting to wipe it away with her hoof.
She quickly smashed the notion. “May I ask what happened?”
“Differences in lifestyles, basically,” Sea Swirl said. She sniffed and looked up. “Symphony, I’m so, so, SO sorry about that! I do like mares, and, well, griffons, but I never thought of you like that!”
“Oh,” Symphony said flatly. Why did that bother her a little?
“No, that’s not what I meant!” Sea Swirl said quickly. “I mean, you’re pretty. Very pretty. Beautiful even!” Something warmed in Symphony’s chest at the words. “But you’ve made it very clear where the line is. And I’d never try and cross it, I promise! Please don’t take what Yukari said seriously! Please!”
Symphony tilted her head a little. “So…you do not like being choked?”
“Er…well…” Sea Swirl’s cheeks went red and her eyes darted down to the ground. “That’s…kind of private. Which is why I’m so ticked at that birdbrain right now!” She turned and looked up at the sky once more, and then back at Symphony. “Please don’t be mad.”
Symphony blinked. “It is fine, Sea Swirl. I am not upset at your friend’s…teasing.” 
“Deliberate embarrassment is more like it,” Sea Swirl grumbled. She turned and looked at the small stash of gems and stones they had collected. It was not that much, perhaps less than half a cart, but apparently it was enough for the Unicorn. “Let’s head back to Canterlot before she decides to come back and taunt me even more.”
“Do you have enough though?” Symphony asked. The day was not even half over. If Sea Swirl said she was done, then Symphony would have nothing to do for the rest of the day save for going home and staring at her miserable apartment. 
“I have plenty back at the house,” Sea Swirl said as she picked up her saddlebag and then started to hitch herself to the cart. “I can just—”
“That is my job,” Symphony cut in as she pushed Sea Swirl away from the cart. “I am not a charity case. I will work for my pay.”
“Right,” Sea Swirl said with a sheepish smile. “Well, I can just work on some orders back at the shop. Maybe even get a few done early and send them out for delivery.”
“I see,” Symphony said. She wanted to ask if there was anything she could do to help, but she didn’t want to seem desperate. 
“You want to tag along?” Sea Swirl asked. “I could use the company. Not sure I should be by myself right now. You can help with the deliveries and even make lunch as I work, instead of dinner tonight. Sound good?”
Symphony nodded. “I…do not mind helping with your deliveries. But, as I warned you for dinner, I am not the best cook. Don’t expect anything grand, like I’m sure you’re used to.”
“Can you make hay sandwiches?”
“Yes.”
“Great. We’ll eat like queens then.” 


*                                                  *                                                  *


Symphony stood in the middle of Sea Swirl’s impressive living room, unsure of what to do with herself. They had finished the sandwiches that she had made, which Sea Swirl had said were delicious several times, and now the Unicorn was humming to herself as she threaded some pearls and shuffled stones around on her work table. 
Symphony had been inside Sea Swirl’s home before. She had woken up in the Unicorn’s bed the first time, and even then she had noticed the amount of clutter, but she had never imagined that Sea Swirl would be able to organize it all. Watching her work was breathtaking in its own way. She flowed from one task to the next, from plucking out the exact gem or stone she needed without looking, to making sure the clasp on a broach was set properly with her magic while her hooves moved around for tools or adjusted her magnifying glass. 
Symphony had suspected that Sea Swirl used her magic to make everything, but she saw now that she was wrong. The lavender pony used her hooves just as much, and that only made her feats more impressive. All the Unicorns that Symphony saw used their magic for every little thing, constantly rubbing it in her face that they were better than her. 
But not her, she thought. Why? Why is she so different?
“And…done!” Sea Swirl said as she slid the last pearl in place. She lowered the necklace into a red jewelry box and floated it over to Symphony. “Here, this is the last one for today.”
Symphony took the box and stared at it for a moment. “You only have two deliveries?” she asked, a slight edge in her voice. She was already annoyed about the fact that she was working as a workhorse, but at least that was work. Sea Swirl could easily make these deliveries on her own. She didn’t need Symphony to carry two small boxes. 
“Heh heh.” Sea Swirl cocked her head to the side and rubbed the back of her neck. “Actually…it’s really only one delivery. The customer just ordered two things.”
Symphony narrowed her eyes. “Why am I here then?”
“Oh…um…” Symphony instantly regretted the question when she saw Sea Swirl’s face. The Unicorn’s ears drooped and her eyes fell to the floor. She seemed to deflate a little as she bit her lip. “I guess you have a point. I just thought…never mind.” She looked up, her eyes closed and a smile on her face. “Never mind. You’re right. You probably have better things to do right now, and I can handle this myself.”
Symphony looked down at the box she was holding and then placed it in her saddlebag with the other one before Sea Swirl could snatch it back. 
“No,” Symphony said, remembering the encounter on the beach. “I said I did not mind coming along, so I will.”
“Great!” the Unicorn replied, her ears perking up. “It won’t take long, I promise. This client lives in the upper area of Canterlot, so it won’t be too far of a walk. After that, we can…uh…”
Symphony blinked and waited. 
“Nevermind,” Sea Swirl said quickly. 
“Very well.” Symphony looked at the door. “Shall we go?”
The two ponies left Sea Swirl’s home, the Unicorn locking the door as they did, and began to make their way through Canterlot. They walked in silence, something that Symphony was completely fine with, but judging by the way her new boss kept looking at her, she felt that the Unicorn was trying to find a way to break the ice. 
“I used to play the violin,” Symphony said, recalling the very first conversation she had ever had with Sea Swirl. “I…was quite good.”
The Unicorn’s raspberry eyes focused straight ahead. “Oh! Um…so, is that how you got your cutie mark then? The quiver?”
“Quaver,” Symphony corrected. “And yes. That question was a rather—” Symphony was about to say ‘stupid’, but she thought better of it “—silly question. How else would a pony get their cutie mark besides doing something they excel at?”
“Y-Yeah,” Sea Swirl replied. Her eyes darted to look at Symphony, shifted back to looking straight ahead, and then the Unicorn managed to turn her whole head and smile at Symphony. “That’s a good point!”
Sea Swirl fell silent, and Symphony narrowed her eyes slightly. The Unicorn was being unusually non-inquisitive now. She had thought that Sea Swirl would jump at a chance to know more about her.
“I played at the Canterlot Garden party that was held a few months ago.”
That caused Sea Swirl’s eyes to go wide. “You did?” she said as her familiar smile spread across her face for a second, then she cocked her head to the side and her eyes lost focus for a moment. “That’s right! You did! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I didn’t remember that!”
Symphony’s eyes went wide. “You…were there?”
“Oh yeah,” Sea Swirl said with a wave of her hoof. “I usually get invited to all those fancy shindigs.”
“Shindigs?” Symphony asked, raising an eyebrow. More and more, Sea Swirl proved that she did not belong in Canterlot’s society. 
“Yep. Ponies are always trying to butter me up by inviting me. Hope I’ll give them a discount on their order or something.”
And yet, despite of her clear lack of social graces, she was somehow at the top of the ladder. “I see,” Symphony growled. 
“You were part of the band!  Far left, next to Octavia!”
Symphony nearly tripped as her body froze. Somepony remembered her. Sea Swirl remembered her! A genuine smile pulled at her lips as an unfamiliar feeling swelled inside her. 
“That…” she whispered as her cheeks started to hurt.
“Uh, Symphony? You okay?”
“Yes. Why?”
“You’re…kind of crying.”
Symphony instantly rubbed her eyes with her hoof. Sure enough, she felt the small droplets of water on her fur. She blinked furiously until the tears were gone. 
“Sorry,” she said as she put her hoof down. 
“Dust or something?” Sea Swirl asked.
Symphony couldn’t tell if Sea Swirl was being nice, or if she was just that dumb, but either way she was grateful for the escape. “Yes.” She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and get her emotions under control. “I am…surprised you remember me.”
Sea Swirls cheeks went bright red and she looked at the ground. “Oh, well…you know…”
“I do not know,” Symphony pressed.
“It’s because of, um…” Sea Swirl’s face had gone even redder, to the point where her cheeks almost matched her eyes. “Do you really want me to say it?”
Symphony nodded, curious as to what was causing the Unicorn to act so strangely. 
Sea Swirl took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and kept her face pointed toward the ground as she walked. “It’s because of what you were wearing! You and Octavia both looked so…!” Sea Swirl opened one eye and looked up at Symphony. “Pretty.” 
Judging by the way Sea Swirl struggled to get that final word out, Symphony doubted that was the word she had originally meant. Still, the Earth pony couldn’t help but blush a little at the compliment. 
“You like my bowtie?” she asked. She stretched her yellow neck a little to show of the white lace with the purple bowtie, suddenly glad that she had spent her few extra bits to buy a new one.
Sea Swirl nodded vigorously as she licked her lips. “Very much. It matches your hair and tail perfectly, and it makes you look so pristine. Plus, the way it squeezes your neck a little every time you breathe is just—” Sea Swirl slammed her mouth shut and her cheeks seemed to catch fire. 
A new sensation came over Symphony as she stared at the blushing Unicorn. A smile spread across her face again, but this time it was different, dangerous. “So…that griffon was speaking the truth.”
“What? NO!” Sea Swirl shouted, but her reaction was all the proof Symphony needed. “I just mean that it’s nice seeing the outline of your neck pressing—argh!” Sea Swirl collapsed on the street and buried her head under her front hooves. “I’m just going to stop talking now.”
Symphony smiled at her trembling boss and allowed herself a quiet laugh. “Shall I leave you here then?” she asked. “You do not seem to be well. If you tell me where the client is, I can complete the delivery.”
“No,” Sea Swirl moaned beneath her hooves. “I’m coming. We’re almost there anyway.” She picked herself up, deliberately avoiding Symphony’s eyes, and started walking along the street again. 
Symphony watched her for a moment, keeping an eye on her tail as it swished nervously behind her firm swimmer’s legs, and smiled to herself. She was used to the Unicorn stumbling her way through conversations with her. Most of the time she found it annoying, but it was rather charming when Symphony caused it on purpose. The way her tail flicked back and forth across her flank when she was flustered was—
Symphony blinked in surprise when Sea Swirl turned back to look at her. “I promise I’m not that bad,” the Unicorn said with a sheepish face. 
“It is fine,” Symphony replied as she walked to catch up. What had she been doing just now, and why were her cheeks feeling warm?
The pair turned a corner together, Sea Swirl still stubbornly looking everywhere but at Symphony, and walked another half block in silence before the Unicorn stopped. 
“We’re here,” she said as she pointed toward the house. 
Symphony opened her mouth to say something, but when she saw the mansion before her, her voice caught in her throat. Her head darted to the left and then to the right. No! How could she have been so stupid? She had been enjoying Sea Swirl’s company so much that she hadn’t been paying attention to where they were going. 
Should I run? she thought to herself. The idea was enticing, but she remembered that she was carrying Sea Swirl’s merchandise, so running was out of the question. She did not want the Unicorn calling the Guard on her. 
“You coming?” Sea Swirl asked, yanking Symphony out of her thoughts. The Unicorn was already at the door, her hoof raised to knock. 
“I…” Symphony carefully walked up to Sea Swirl, her mind a blazing white mess of panic as she drew closer to the door. Slowly, her mind still screaming at her to stop, she came up behind Sea Swirl and stopped.
“You okay?” Sea Swirl asked, cocking her head to the side. “You’re shaking.”
“I…” 
“Symphony, seriously, if you’re not feeling well, we can—”
“Who’s there?” asked a terrifyingly familiar voice. The door swung open and Symphony’s mind ceased its manic panic and just howled inside her skull. 
“Hello, Mr. Orchestral,” Sea Swirl said as she turned to face the pony at the door.
“Sea Swirl, my dear!” the brown Unicorn replied with his sickening posh accent. “Good to see you! Are you here with my wife’s order? The event is—”
The Unicorn stopped cold as his green eyes fell on Symphony. 
“This is Symphony,” Sea Swirl said, gesturing toward her. “She kind of works with me now.”
“Does she now,” the Unicorn answered. It wasn’t so much a question, but a statement in that judgmental tone of his. 
“Yes, sir,” Symphony said quietly, doing the best to keep the snarl out of her voice. 
“Well,” the Unicorn said as he gave Symphony one final look before turning back to Sea Swirl, his expression once again that fake mask of Canterlot pleasantry. “Do come in. I’m sure my wife will be pleased with your work, like always.”
“I aim to please,” Sea Swirl answered as she followed the Unicorn into the house. She stopped once she crossed the threshold and turned back to look at Symphony. “Symphony? Are you coming?”
Symphony bit her lip so hard that she was afraid she would make it bleed. The only thing that stopped her from doing it was the picture of Mrs. Orchestral’s sneering face if she saw blood running down her yellow coat. 
It was too late for Symphony to back out now. She looked at the Unicorn waiting for her and nodded. “I am.”
“Good,” Sea Swirl replied with a smile. 
Symphony followed her inside, doing her best to keep her breathing steady and her face calm, despite the raging torrent of fear roaring in her body. 
	
> "I don't care." 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	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. 
	
> Fillyfooler (?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sea Swirl set the last box on the counter and let out a sigh of relief. She took a few moments to catch her breath before lifting her head to look around the small shop. The display cases were full, the floor was clean, and the Hearth Warming decorations were all hung up, save for the last few pieces in the box she had just set down.
“Just in time,” the Unicorn said with a weary voice. “Thanks for the help, Symphony.”
“You are welcome,” the mare replied from somewhere behind her. “What do we do now?”
Sea Swirl turned around and faced the beautiful pony standing in the middle of the shop. She had her mane tied back in a rather alluring fashion to keep it out of her eyes, and the small patches of dirt, dust, and sweet that covered her face only served to make her more attractive. 
Sea Swirl had been fighting a losing battle ever since Symphony had sort of asked to spend the night a month ago. Before that, she had been able to keep her feelings firmly stuffed in the back of her mind, but after waking up in her own bed with Symphony next to her, those feelings had been clawing their way to the surface. 
The fact that Symphony had been spending the night more and more—despite the fact that Sea Swirl always ended up snuggled next to her come morning, much to the Unicorn’s embarrassment—wasn’t helping Sea Swirl in the slightest. 
Just having her around is enough.
Even though a part of Sea Swirl wanted more—much more—from Symphony, she found that she truly believed her thoughts. It was nice having Symphony around, even if it was only to have another pony to talk to and keep her company. Travelling between Canterlot and Ponyville, as well as all across Equestria, got pretty lonely, so having the mare be a constant while she was in Canterlot was something she really appreciated. 
“Now,” Sea Swirl said, shaking the thoughts from her head, “we take a much deserved break. Lunch?”
“Lunch sounds enjoyable,” Symphony replied.
The two mares sat down on the rug that Sea Swirl had placed on the floor and began to eat their lunches. They ate in silence, but Sea Swirl didn’t mind. Before, when she had first met Symphony, moments like this were awkward, with Sea Swirl constantly trying to find something to talk about. But over the past few months—and especially the month since that first night—Sea Swirl had grown used to this sort of thing. It was just the way Symphony was. 
Sea Swirl still wished the mare would open up to her a bit more, because she could still see the pain in her eyes, but most days it was in the background now.
“You do this every year then?” Symphony asked. 
“Uh-huh.” Sea Swirl nodded as she swallowed the last bite of her sandwich. “Most of the time I just do business out of my home, but three days before Hearth’s Warming Eve, I always rent out this shop. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but we’ve been getting a lot of orders recently.”
“Indeed,” Symphony replied with a small smile on her face. “It has been amusing watching you frantically fill orders.”
Sea Swirl blushed. “Yeah, well…having you here has made it a lot easier, let me tell you.”
Symphony blushed and Sea Swirl had to struggle not to faint on the spot. “I am…happy to help. Truly.” 
Sea Swirl looked at the clock on the wall and nearly choked on her drink. “So, we’re pretty much done for today, Symphony. I just have some cleaning to do here, and then I have to run some errands. You don’t have to hang out here if you don’t want to.”
“I will help with the cleaning, if you like,” Symphony said. 
An image of Symphony in a maid outfit popped into Sea Swirl’s head and she almost died from the thought. 
“It’s, uh…just busy work, really,” Sea Swirl said, avoiding Symphony’s gaze. 
“Oh,” Symphony replied, and her tone threatened to crush Sea Swirl’s soul. 
“But!” Sea Swirl said quickly, remembering that Symphony really didn’t have anywhere else to go besides her home—which Sea Swirl had still never officially been invited to visit—and Sea Swirl didn’t think the mare liked the idea of just spending the rest of her day by herself; not if the look on her face was any indication. “I do have something you can do for me, if you want.” 
“And that is?” Symphony asked as she blinked once. 
“Here we go.” Sea Swirl levitated a small box over to them and set it on the floor. “These are some flyers that I put up around the city. Lets ponies know that my shop is opening tomorrow. If you want to put those up, that’d be a huge help. I’ll give you a small bonus too.” 
Symphony put her hoof on the box and pulled it toward her. “I will take care of it,” she said. “Shall I meet you back here once I am finished?”
“No!” Sea Swirl said quickly. She wasn’t expecting her meeting to take long, but she didn’t want to risk Symphony walking in on it.  She wasn’t entirely sure how the mare would deal with Sea Swirl’s guest if she saw her. “I’m actually going to head out and do some last-minute Hearth’s Warming Eve shopping after I finish up here. Um…” Sea Swirl swallowed. This had been going on for a month now, but she still got a knot in her stomach every time she asked. “You can come over this evening…?”
“I will be there at four,” Symphony said with a nod.
That gives me two hours, Sea Swirl thought. That should be enough time.
Symphony stood up, opened the box, and began to load the fliers into her saddlebag, when an idea popped into Sea Swirl’s head. 
“Here you go, Symphony,” Sea Swirl said as she pulled out a key from her saddlebag. She floated it over to Symphony and dropped it into her bag. “It’s a spare key to my place. If you finish early, or I’m not there, don’t think you have to wait for me in the cold, okay? You can even take a shower if you want. This place was kind of a mess.”
“Are you hoping to walk in on me while I am soaking wet?” Symphony asked. Her voice was completely deadpan like always, but Sea Swirl thought she detected just a hint of something else in it.
“Er…” The mare felt her ears warming and she flattened them against her skull. “I’ll…make sure I knock first, okay?”
“I will see you at four then,” Symphony said. She finished loading the flyers, wrapped the scarf that Sea Swirl had bought her around her neck, and then walked out the door. There was a blast of winter air for a moment and the chime of the bell as the door opened, and then the mare was gone. 
“Whew,” Sea Swirl said. She closed her eyes and started to relax, but a moment later, the cold air came flying back and the bell sounded again. Sea Swirl shot up, expecting Symphony to be walking back in saying she forgot something, but that wasn’t the case. 
“She is rather beautiful,” came the peaceful voice. Sea Swirl felt like her face had found a whole new shade of red as she stared at the pony that had just walked into her shop. She was dressed in a long, brown cloak and had a hood covering her head, but her height gave her away easily. “Wherever did you meet her?”
“Princess Celestia!” Sea Swirl said, bowing her head slightly. “You’re right on time. We just finished.”
“Oh, I know, Sea Swirl,” the Princess of Equestria said with a smile. “I was actually outside for a few minutes. I believed you wouldn’t want me interrupting.”
“Eeep!” Sea Swirl squeaked as her friend’s smile turned into a grin. “It’s…it’s not like that! She just works for me.”
“Hm?”
“Honestly!”
“That is too bad,” Princess Celestia replied. “Like I said, she is quite striking. Are you sure that she only works for you?”
Sea Swirl bit her lip and made a face. “Okay, yes. Fine. You win.” Sea Swirl flopped down on the floor and her body collapsed in defeat. “Her name is Symphony, and I’m trying really hard not to fall for her any more than I already have.”
Princess Celestia walked in and sat down on the floor next to Sea Swirl. “And why is that? You are not still holding on to Yukari, are you?”
“No,” Sea Swirl said. “Although I did see her last month.”
“Why restrain yourself then? I have not seen you this excited since you and Yukari were together.”
“Symphony doesn’t like mares,” Sea Swirl whispered. “So, yeah…kind of a dead end.”
“Really?” Princess Celestia looked out the door and rubbed her chin with her hoof. “That was not what I saw.”
“Nice try, Celestia,” Sea Swirl laughed, nudging the Princess slightly. “But Symphony told me when we first met.”
“Well, you know her better than I,” the Alicorn answered, although Sea Swirl got the feeling that her friend was far from convinced. Celestia looked around the shop and smiled. “I see you are all set up for another Hearth’s Warming Eve sale. Were there any problems?”
“Nope,” Sea Swirl replied. “I really appreciate you holding this building for me this time of year. I’m sure a lot of ponies are constantly asking for it.” 
“It is a simple enough matter,” Celestia responded. “All I do is make certain that it is kept off the market. Without a sign or an ad, most ponies don’t give this place a second glance. Save, of course, for when you open your shop. No doubt you will have a line starting early tomorrow.”
“Probably. I have pretty much every year since I started this.”
“Will you have help this year?”
“You mean Symphony?” Sea Swirl asked. “I…think so. At least for one or two of the days.” 
“I am certain that will make your days much easier.” The Princess leaned down so that her rainbow mane was cascading over Sea Swirl’s head. “And possibly some nights too?”
Sea Swirl jumped back so fast that she got tangled in the Alicorn’s flowing mane and crashed down on her back. “All we do is cud—” Sea Swirl slammed her hooves on her mouth, but the smile on Celestia’s face told her she’d already been caught. “Who…? How did you know?”
“I keep an eye on my friends,” the Princess replied with a knowing smile. “It was hard to miss the fact that my close friend was having a mare spend the night rather frequently. Are you certain she just works for you?”
“Yes, Celestia,” Sea Swirl said, rolling her eyes. “The most we’ve done is unconscious cuddling, and it’s always because of me. She just likes sleeping in my bed, and I…well, I fall asleep on my side of the bed, but when I wake up…”
“Am I to believe that you find no enjoyment because of that?”
“I…don’t mind waking up wrapped around her,” Sea Swirl whispered. “She’s very soft.”
“I’m certain those mornings are rather amusing, are they not?”
Sea Swirl chuckled. “Yeah. It usually involves me apologizing profusely and falling out of my bed while she just stares at me.” 
“That sounds adorable. And you are positive that she does not prefer mares over—?”
“Okay, Princess, stop teasing the little Unicorn,” Sea Swirl said as she sat up. She wasn’t going to lie to herself. Part of her desperately wanted what Celestia was saying to be true. She would love to be able to fall asleep with her body pressed against Symphony’s, listening to the mare’s breathing and feeling her body rise and fall as they drifted off to sleep together, instead of just waking up wrapped around her. 
But the fact was that Symphony just didn’t go for mares. There was nothing Sea Swirl could do to change her mind, and she didn’t want her to change just to make Sea Swirl happy. 
“I am simply looking out for my friend’s interests,” Celestia teased. “But as you wish. I will not mention Symphony again. Today.”
“Ugh.” Sea Swirl stood up and walked over to the counter where she had set up the register for her store. “You’re here to pick up Princess Luna’s gift, right? I have it right here.” She pulled out a small box and set it on the counter.
“Thank you, Sea Swirl,” the Princess said. Without opening the box, Celestia levitated the jewelry case into her cloak and out of sight. “At least this is going well.”
Sea Swirl cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head. She hadn’t heard about any new crisis threatening Equestria, so she couldn’t help but wonder. “Is something wrong?”
Celestia let out a weary sigh, and for a few moments, the regal aura of one of the Princesses of Equestria fell away, leaving behind a simple pony who just happened to be nearly twice the height of Sea Swirl. 
“I’m just having problems finding entertainment for the New Year’s Party. Octavia has been away from Canterlot for some time now. To make matters worse, Vinyl is with her, as is Lyra. Luna assures me that they are safe, but she cannot be certain if any of them will return in time for the party.”
“Why does it have to be Octavia?” Sea Swirl asked, a small idea suddenly building in the back of her mind.
“She is the belle of Canterlot’s music circle, so to speak,” Celestia said. “She is usually my go-to pony for all these fancy dinners and parties, but when she can’t make it, I can usually get Lyra. In extreme cases, even Vinyl.”
“Vinyl?” Sea Swirl asked. She had a hard time picturing the rather loud D.J. being anywhere near any type of Canterlot function. 
“You’d be surprised,” Celestia said with a smile. “While it’s not her first choice, she can host a regal party or two. She’s told me she’s learned a lot of it from Octavia. Sometimes, guests even ask for her over Octavia. It’s rare, but it happens.” 
“Well…” Sea Swirl bit her lip a little. “I…might be able to help you with that. Symphony supposedly plays the violin. Would that work?”
Celestia raised her eyebrows in delight. “Yes! That would be perfect. Should I ask her?”
“Um…” Sea Swirl scratched the back of her neck with her hoof. “Could you wait until the day after Hearth’s Warming? It’s…kind of complicated. I’m not sure she’ll be up for it, but I’ll let you know one way or another. I promise.” 
“Thank you, Sea Swirl,” Celestia said. Her eyes lit up for a moment, and then she took a deep breath and the graceful ruler of Equestria was back once more. “I will keep looking for replacements, but as it stands now, Symphony will be my primary choice.”
“Thanks, Celestia,” Sea Swirl said. She was pretty sure Symphony would hit the roof for the opportunity—Wouldn’t that be a sight to see!—but she had to make sure that the mare still enjoyed playing.
And in order to do that, she needed to go start her errand for the day.
“I should be going now,” Princess Celestia said as if she could read Sea Swirl’s mind. “Be sure to let me know about Symphony.”
“Of cou—”
“All about Symphony.”
Sea Swirl snapped her mouth shut and glared at the Princess. The Alicorn grinned back, put her hood up, and walked out the door, looking over her shoulder one last time with the same grin before disappearing into Canterlot’s streets.
Sea Swirl sighed and looked around her shop. Everything was all set up, and come tomorrow, she’d have the cases fully stocked with plenty of jewelry and other fine items. But right now, she had an appointment to keep. 
Grabbing a long case she had kept hidden behind the counter while she and Symphony had worked, Sea Swirled left her shop, locked the door, and began to make her way through Canterlot’s festive streets. 
The spirit of the holiday was in full swing in the city. While the streets themselves were clear, a fine layer of snow covered the roofs of buildings and had been plowed aside on the sidewalks. Here and there, fillies had built snowponies or little forts from the white powder, and Sea Swirl even found one such fort engaged in a furious snowball fight as she walked by. 
Tinsel was draped from nearly every possible fixture, from lampposts to the giant candy canes that lined some of the streets like guards. Lights were strung throughout the city as well, although their illumination wouldn’t become noticeable until the sun set later this evening. Bells were ringing everywhere, but it was more like a comforting background noise than annoying clattering, and they only helped to lighten Sea Swirl’s mood even more. 
Canterlot always went all-out for Hearth’s Warming Eve, and Sea Swirl was thankful that she was always in the city when the holiday started. 
“This is the place,” Sea Swirl said as she looked up at a sign hanging from a rather old-fashion looking shop. She pushed the door open slowly and poked her head inside. “Hello?”
“Welcome to Wind and Strings,” a fluttery voice answered. A moment later, a crimson Unicorn with a royal purple mane covering half her face walked into view. She pushed her mane aside with her hoof and her mauve eyes shot open as a smile spread across her face. “Welcome back, Miss Sea Swirl! Did you bring it?”
Sea Swirl walked into the store and pulled out the case she had grabbed on the way out of her own store. She floated it over to the Unicorn and the mare took the case with her own magic. She popped it open and tilted her head to the side. 
“Hm…” the mare said. She floated the box’s contents into air to get a better look at it. She turned the ruined violin bow over a few times, allowing the severed strings to flop in the air over and over. “Interesting…”
“What?” Sea Swirl asked, an edge of panic sneaking into her voice. “Can you not fix it?”
The mare snorted and giggled. “Oh, I can fix it.”
Sea Swirl breathed a sigh of relief and closed her eyes for a moment. “Thank goodness. You had me worried for a second.”
The mare took her eyes off the bow and looked at Sea Swirl. “What I meant was the break in the strings. It’s too clean.”
“Uh…” Sea Swirl stared at the bow. “What’s that mean?”
“Usually I can see signs of wear and tear on the strings, but there’s barely any on these.” She turned the bow so Sea Swirl could see it, but Sea Swirl had no idea what she was looking at so she just nodded. “Plus, it’s really rare for the strings to snap in the middle of the bow. Like, really rare.” The mare gave Sea Swirl a look. “Were you sword fighting with it or something?”
“No!” Sea Swirl protested, mostly due to the fact that she had often wondered how much fun it would be to use a bow that way. “My, uh…friend just opened the violin case and the bow was like that.” 
The mare’s mauve-shaded eyes seemed to light up when Sea Swirl spoke. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I can fix this easy. But…” The twinkle in the mare’s eyes grew brighter as she stared at Sea Swirl. “These strings are completely useless. I’m going to need new ones. So…?” The mare raised her eyebrows and smiled. 
Sea Swirl pursed her lips. “So…it’s going to cost extra? That’s fine. As long as you can get it done by Hearth’s Warming Eve.” 
The mare sighed so hard that she managed to blow the lose strands on her mane around with her breath. “Okay, let me try this again. I have some strings ready to go, right over there. If I use them, I’ll have this thing fixed by the end of the day at the latest. And it would only take that long if something unexpected happened.”
Sea Swirl looked to where the mare was pointing, and then back at the mare. “Um…okay?”
The mare sighed again. “They’re the cheapest ones I have and they’re top quality to boot. You put those on this bow, and I promise you they won’t break for a long time—unless a pony deliberately breaks them. Solves all your problems, right? Bow fixed in plenty of time with top-class work.”
“Right!” Sea Swirl said. “But, uh…somehow I get the feeling there’s still a problem?”
“Oh, there’s no problem,” the mare said as she turned around and started to walk toward the violin strings. She stopped after two steps and looked back over her shoulder. “If you’re okay with the gift just being plain.”
“Huh?” 
“Sweet Two Princesses, you really have no idea what you’re doing, do you?” the mare said with a shake of your head. “Maybe it would be best if I just use regular string. I just thought the pony you wanted to give this to was special to you.” 
“She is!” Sea Swirl protested, and then quickly added, “But, uh…not like that.”
“If you say so,” the mare said with a tone that implied she didn’t believe Sea Swirl’s excuse for a second. 
“So…what do you suggest I do?”
The shopkeeper smiled. “Well, instead of using plain old, generic strings to fix this, why don’t we make it a bit more special? What if we use some of your hair instead?”
“My hair?” Sea Swirl asked, her hoof immediately going to her scalp. “What are you talking about? You’re not going to shave my head, are you?”
The mare raised both eyebrows in a mix of disbelief and bafflement. “Bow strings are made with horse hair, usually taken from the tail.”
Sea Swirl looked back at her two-shaded iris tail. “Oh, that makes much more sense,” she said as she flicked it around a few times. “So you think I should use some of my hair to fix the bow?”
The mare smiled in a way that made Sea Swirl question just how deep she was about to go in the music world. “Only if you want to,” she said as she floated a pair of scissors into the air. “But if your little violin player is smart, doing so will make this mean a lot more than just fixing the bow.”
Sea Swirl hesitated for only a moment, and then only because she got the feeling that the mare wasn’t telling her everything. Still, if getting her tail trimmed a bit was all it took to up the ante on the gift, she was for it.
“How much do you need?” she asked as she turned around.


*                                                  *                                                  *


The water beat down on Symphony’s neck as she stood in a shower that rivaled the one in her parents’ home. Sea Swirl was well off in Canterlot, of that there was no doubt, but she didn’t seem to flaunt her wealth. Her home was average size, and while all her furnishings were hardly thrift-store quality, they weren’t screaming lavish either. If anything, the Unicorn seemed to enjoy being comfortable, with soft pillows and comfortable bedding, but she wasn’t about to spend two thousand bits on sheets made from the finest silks from the Crystal Empire or something.
While all Sea Swirl’s possessions were leaps and bounds beyond anything Symphony owned, the Earth pony never really felt worthless when she spent time at Sea Swirl’s place. And, if she was being completely honest with herself, she had grown rather fond of the slight luxuries in the Unicorn’s home. 
But Sea Swirl’s bathroom was a different story. Instead of tile, like in her kitchen, the mare had installed white marble. She had made it look almost like Cloudsdale, with two mini pillars running up to the ceiling and a few plants scattered around, giving the room a feeling of ancient royalty.
Three small steps lead up to the tub’s edge, and they were all engraved with stunning designs so that a pony wouldn’t slip while walking up or down them. The bath itself was big enough to hold at least five ponies comfortably, or more likely in Sea Swirl’s case, allow her to swim around a bit. The nobs for the water were either made of gold or had gold inlaid in them, and several expensive looking soaps were stacked neatly along the edge of the tub. The faucet itself had been designed to look like the water was cascading down a some rocks, and when Symphony had looked in the tub, she had found that the inside had been painted blue with dozens of pictures of sea life. No doubt when the tub was full, it gave the impression of being in the ocean. 
And that had just been the bath. The shower that Symphony now stood in was another story altogether. While it wasn’t nearly as big as the bath, it was still roomy, certainly large enough for a pony and a griffon—again Symphony bristled at the thought—to stand in together. There were even two showerheads, both adorned in shining silver it seemed, so that each pony or griffon would have their own and didn’t have to fight over the water. 
The walls and door surrounding the shower were made of styled glass. They were etched with the design of the ocean, with the crest of the waves coming up just to a pony’s neck, obscuring the rest of the body from view from the outside. Like the bath, the waves had designs etched in them, ranging from fish, to dolphins, and even a whale.
Symphony had been a bit overwhelmed when she had first entered the bathroom. She had almost turned around and walked straight out, deciding that she would rather just wait until she got home to shower, but then she had caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror and thought better of it. 
Now she was standing in Sea Swirl’s shower, her entire body soaking wet, and carefully scrubbing her mane with some sort of fancy shampoo. Thoughts of spending the night at Sea Swirl’s home swam in the back of her mind as she rubbed her scalp and her body began to tingle as the thought of the mare wrapping her forelegs around her filled her mind. 
“What am I doing?” the pony asked herself as she finished lathering her mane. She hung her head under the pouring water and her purple hair fell around her face as the shampoo was washed away. “How did my life come to this?” 
Sea Swirl was a Unicorn, which was bad enough, but worse than that, she was a mare! A mare! 
So what if Octavia had a marefriend? So what if that stupid Fiddlesticks had one too? Symphony wasn’t like that. She wasn’t a…a…
“Fillyfooler.” The mare practically spit the word. She wasn’t one. She refused to be one. So what if she liked being held by Sea Swirl? She just liked the warmth, the feelings of security and belonging. So what if she found herself looking forward to seeing the Unicorn nearly every day now? Of course she did. Sea Swirl was paying her—handsomely, no less. It was only natural for her to look forward to seeing her. 
And sleeping in the same bed? What pony wouldn’t want to sleep in Sea Swirl’s bed? It was so comfortable that Symphony bet it rivaled a Pegasus’ bed. It didn’t mean anything. And of course Symphony sometimes found herself getting aroused when Sea Swirl rubbed against her. It was only natural. She’d have to be broken for her to feel nothing when the Unicorn’s leg accidently slipped between hers. It wasn’t like Sea Swirl had made her…climax or anything. 
And even if the Unicorn had done that, would it really mean anything? It would just be Symphony’s body reacting to stimulation, nothing more. And since Sea Swirl was a fillyfooler—or at least liked females of other species—then of course she was going to know where to touch and what to do. As long as Symphony didn’t feel anything about it, as long as it was just a natural reaction, then it meant nothing. It didn’t make Symphony into…that.
“I’m not a fillyfooler!” she said again, hitting the shower wall with her front hoof. “I’m not! I admit that she is…attractive, in a way, but that is all! It does not mean anything! Get out of my head!”
The mare placed her head against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to sort out thoughts she didn’t understand as the water soaked her yellow fur. After five minutes of running circles in her mind, she gave up and decided to get out of the shower. She turned the water off and opened the shower door, allowing the steam to flood into the bathroom as she reached for a towel. She walked over to the giant mirror by the sink and began to dry herself off as she stared at the fogged up mirror. 
“I cannot see,” she whispered. She wrapped the towel around one of her hooves and proceeded to wipe the mirror clean until she could see herself, and then went back to drying her body.
She wrung out her tail and shook her head a few times to get the extra water out, and then she stood up on her hind legs to dry off her body. As she got her balance, her mane fell over her front and the soaking wet strands clung her to body. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and froze.
I…look like one of those models, she thought. Water was dripping from nearly every part of her body, and a few small streams were flowing down from her mane, tracing the curves of her hips and down her thighs. She had the towel in a rather risqué position, and her soaking wet mane was clinging to the side of her face and her body. She truly did look like one of those models that were often used in pictures for the more…racy activities in Canterlot and around Equestria. The only thing that was off was the expression on her face. She looked bored, instead of sultry like the models did. 
Scrunching her lower lip, Symphony blinked her crystal blue eyes and tried to mold her face into what she recalled of those models. She relaxed her cheeks so that her lips were flat, uninterested. She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, and when she opened her eyes, she did it slowly, only opening them half way.
Now she looked like a model. 
Slowly, Symphony began to rub the towel over her body, not aiming to dry herself off but more of putting on a show. She rubbed it across her chest, her movements a poor imitation of a professional, but she didn’t care. She ran it around the back of her neck, flipping her wet mane back and sending water flying. She ran it down one of her forelegs, and then the other, blinking slowly with each one. She wrapped it around her waist and swayed her hips as she dried herself, and then moved down the outside of her hind legs. She then started to bring the towel on the inside of her legs, never breaking eye contact with her reflection.
Would…Sea Swirl like this? 
The thought hit Symphony so hard that she jerked out of reflex and the towel went up between her thighs. She clenched as the unexpected pleasure tickled her body and her balance failed her. She tossed the towel away, horrified that it had aroused her, as she fell forward onto all fours. Her breathing was ragged, as if she had just run a marathon, and her entire body was shaking despite the fact that nothing beyond a simple touch had happened.
“I AM NOT A FILLYFOOLER!” she screamed at her reflection, tears swelling in her eyes. Disgusted, she tore herself away from her reflection and made her way to the bathroom’s exit, leaving the shameful towel crumpled on the floor. She flung the door open, stomped into the hallway, and made her way toward the living room. 
“Home,” she said to herself. “I am going home. I am not sleeping here tonight. I am not attracted to her! I am not a fillyfooler! I am—”
The front door opened before Symphony could reach it. 
Symphony froze as Sea Swirl walked in. The Unicorn made it halfway through the door before she caught sight of Symphony and then she, too, froze.
“Whoa…” Sea Swirl’s mouth was hanging open and her eyes were as wide as saucers as they locked on Symphony’s face, then they slowly began to go over every inch of her still damp body, lingering extra long on the purple mass of mane that was still clinging to Symphony’s neck. Eventually, she managed to close her mouth and gulped, but that was all. 
Symphony was disgusted with what was happening, but not because it was painfully obvious that the Unicorn was drooling over her. No, she was disgusted because part of her was pleased, excited even, that Sea Swirl was staring at her with abandon. The raw shock in those two reddish eyes gave Symphony a sense of joy that utterly horrified her as the memory of what had just happened in the bathroom clawed its way to the forefront of her mind.
Symphony blinked furiously and shoved the entire memory, as well as all the feelings that came with it, into the back of her mind. If they were physical things, she would have stomped on them until they were nothing but dust. 
Desperate to break Sea Swirl out of her gaze, Symphony looked the pony over and noticed that she had a bag with her saddlebag that she hadn’t been carrying before. “What is that?” she asked, and Sea Swirl shook her head as if she was waking from a dream. 
“Uh…sorry,” the Unicorn replied. She gave a smile that looked more like half her face was crunching up as she forced a weak laugh. “Guess I should have knocked before coming into the house, and not just the bathroom, huh?” A confused look then crossed Sea Swirl’s face and she added, “You’re not leaving, are you?”
“No,” Symphony answered. She couldn’t very well storm out of Sea Swirl’s home now. She would give the Sea Swirl the wrong idea, and for some reason, she found that thought very unappealing. “I was just…never mind. What is in the bag?”
“Oh, right!” Sea Swirl said. She used her magic to pull the bag forward and held it in front of Symphony. “Just a few gifts for the holiday. Oh, and before you try to sneak a peek, your present is still being worked on.”
“…What?” Symphony blinked once as she stared at the Unicorn. 
“Oh, don’t worry! It will be done by Hearth’s Warming Eve! She promised me she’d get it finished in time.”
“No, that is—” Symphony stopped and took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. “You…purchased a gift for me?”
“Yes…?” Sea Swirl answered, a little thrown by the question. “I mean, you’re my best employee and everything, so…”
“I am your only employee.”
“Fine,” Sea Swirl said with a sigh as she rolled her eyes. “I…just wanted to get you a little something, okay? You’ve been a really big help and I…I like having you around, so this is my way of saying thanks.” 
An icy dread began to build in the pit of Symphony’s stomach. It was so cold that, when Sea Swirl walked in, she had to squirm her way past Symphony because the mare was frozen to the spot. 
She bought me a gift! She bought me a GIFT!
“So…did you manage to hang up those flyers?” Sea Swirl asked as she set the small shopping bag down on the couch and hung her saddlebag by the door.
“Indeed,” Symphony asked, still trying to fight off the panic. Stupid Unicorn! Why did she feel the need to get her a gift? “I put them up along several of the main streets. I had several ponies come up and ask me questions, or simply tell me how excited they were for the shop to be opening. A few tried to place orders with me, but I told them I was not part of that.”
“Yeah,” Sea Swirl said as she collapsed on the couch in her living room. “Probably should have warned you about that. Sorry.”
Symphony, in spite of her better judgment, walked over and sat down on the couch. Sea Swirl immediately scooted to the far end of the couch, leaving plenty of space between them. Symphony did her best to keep her wet mane off the cushions. 
“It was not bad,” the Earth pony said. The two of them sat in silence for a few moments before Symphony continued. “You have an impressive bathroom.”
“Heh,” Sea Swirl said, leaning her head back on the couch and staring at the ceiling. “Yeah. I kind of went overboard in that room. I didn’t want to put a pool in because it’d be too much trouble to keep up, so I decided to go for the extra-large bathtub.” The Unicorn rolled her head along the couch to look at Symphony. “So…are you staying for dinner tonight?”
“If you would like,” Symphony replied, even though the voice in her head was demanding to know why, after she had nearly stormed out of the house not ten five minutes ago. 
“Sure!” Sea Swirl said, a bit too quickly it seemed, because her cheeks blushed a little. “And, uh…are you…uh…staying…?”
“Staying the night?” Symphony asked. She had to admire Sea Swirl on this point. Despite the fact that Symphony had been staying over nearly every other night, sometimes several nights in a row, the Unicorn never assumed it was a sure thing. Even though Symphony could easily see the excitement and hope in Sea Swirl’s face, even though every morning Sea Swirl always apologized profusely for ending up wrapped around Symphony, the Unicorn still always asked, giving Symphony the option to go home each time.
I should do that now. I need time to think. I need to get away from this place. I need to get away from her!
“I…” Symphony looked at Sea Swirl. She felt like she was looking at the eyes of a filly who was trying very hard not to be disappointed if her parents turned her down for an ice cream. “If you do not mind.”
Now Sea Swirl’s face looked like a filly who had just been given an extra scoop on her cone. “Not at all!” She sat up and clapped her front hooves together. “So, what shall we have for dinner?”


*                                                 *                                                  *


The room was dark, like the bottom of the ocean late at night, and the only sounds were Symphony’s breathing and Sea Swirl’s own. Usually the Unicorn would be fast asleep by now. Normally it only took her a few minutes of lying on her bed before she was out cold, even when she had to split it with Symphony. 
But tonight she just couldn’t fall asleep. She didn’t know if it was because of setting up her shop, or if it was because Hearth’s Warming Eve was only a few days away. Maybe it was because she was secretly fixing Symphony’s bow, and had added some extra flare to it, both of which she wasn’t sure the Earth pony would approve of. Then again, it could be because she was anxious to hear Symphony play so she could tell Princess Celestia whether or not the mare was suitable for the New Year’s Party event. 
It might have been a combination of all of those things, and her brain running around trying to sort them out as she lay on her side in the darkness, but whatever the reason was, sleep was simply eluding her. 
Careful not to wake her guest, Sea Swirl sighed to herself and rolled onto her back. She spread her forelegs out and jerked when the right one touched something. For a moment, she was afraid she had touched Symphony, but then she realized it was just the pillow that the mare insisted they keep between them. Not that it seemed to be doing much good. Sea Swirl always woke up tangled around Symphony, no matter how hard she tried. 
Must get pretty annoying, she thought. But then again, it couldn’t be that bad, because Symphony kept spending the night and kept sleeping in the same bed. Still, Sea Swirl wondered if maybe she should buy another bed. She had a spare bedroom she could set it up in, and that way Symphony could enjoy this bed without having to always suffer through Sea Swirl’s annoying sleeping habits. 
Would she like that?  Sea Swirl rolled onto her side so that she was staring at Symphony’s back in the dark. She wrapped her forelegs around one of the pillows separating them and waited for her eyes to adjust. They slowly did, and eventually she was able to make out the form of the pony sleeping next to her. 
A wound in Sea Swirl’s heart, one that had never really healed since Yukari, began to ache as she looked at the body next to her. While she knew it would never happen, part of her wanted to be able to slide up next to Symphony and just hold her. She had to admit that she did like those few moments every morning just before she woke, where her brain was still asleep but her senses weren’t, allowing her to relish having the mare’s form wrapped up in her embrace.
This isn’t healthy. She said it’s never going—
Sea Swirl stopped thinking when her eyes caught the hint of movement in the darkness. At first she thought it was just Symphony shifting in her sleep, but she quickly realized that wasn’t the case. She watched in complete silence as Symphony slowly turned in the bed, rolling over until she was facing Sea Swirl. The Unicorn slammed her eyes shut, fearing that the mare was awake and had noticed her watching, but when she didn’t hear anything, she risked opening them again just a bit.
Symphony had carefully pulled out the bottom pillow of the barrier. She tossed it to the foot of the bed—where it always seemed to end up every morning—and then she looked back at Sea Swirl. Sea Swirl tensed as the Earth pony reached out and touched her front hoof. She held her breath as Symphony slowly lifted it into the air and then used her other hoof to slide the pillow out that Sea Swirl had been cuddling.
What is she…? No way! She’s not…she can’t be!
Sea Swirl, watching through eyes that were slowly opening more and more with each passing second, stared in quiet disbelief and Symphony rolled back over, still holding Sea Swirl’s hoof in the air, and began to slide her body closer to Sea Swirl’s. 
It hadn’t been Sea Swirl that had been causing the sleep cuddling! It had been Symphony! The practiced way she pulled the pillows out and then slid herself in between Sea Swirl’s forelegs without a sound proved that she had been doing it for a while now.
But…why?
Sea Swirl waited until Symphony was pressed firmly against her chest and stomach before she allowed herself to breathe. Her heart was slamming against her ribs as Symphony slowly lowered her foreleg down and then wrapped it around her yellow body like a towel. A second later, Sea Swirl almost yelped when she felt Symphony’s hind legs trying to wiggle their way between her own. When one of them succeeded, Sea Swirl’s breathing became ragged as she felt the mare’s firm back leg begin to slide up her thighs. Just a little more and she would be dangerously close. 
Sea Swirl couldn’t take it anymore. “Um…Symphony? What are you doing?”
The mare that had deafly moved into her embrace suddenly went stiff, as if her body had been turned to marble. The hind leg that was between Sea Swirl’s thighs tensed and pressed against her, causing her to clench in return. As soon as she did, Symphony moved like an arrow released from a bow. In a heartbeat, she had freed herself from Sea Swirl and was sitting on the edge of the bed, her back to her.
Sea Swirl stared at her dark form for what felt like a lifetime, until she finally noticed that the mare was trembling violently. She strained her ears, and sure enough, she could just barely make out the sound of stifled tears. 
“Symphony, I—”
“Shut up!” the mare snapped in a voice more broken than Sea Swirl thought possible. “You…you’re supposed to be asleep! You’re always asleep! Or…or have you been fooling me this whole time? Just pretending, so I’ll sleep next to you? That’s it, isn’t it?”
“No,” Sea Swirl whispered. She wanted to say more, wanted to flatly deny the whole thing, but the way Symphony was shaking, the way she was holding herself in the darkness, and the crack in her voice told the Unicorn that Symphony wasn’t really speaking to her. 
“Well why not?” Symphony asked. “I know you like it! You think I do not feel you rub up against me in the morning? You think I do not hear your little moans? You think I didn’t feel your thighs just now?”
“Um,” was all Sea Swirl could say. It was all she dared to say. 
“I should leave,” Symphony continued a second later. “Leave, and never come back. It would be for the best. I’m not…I’m not a…” The mare looked over her shoulder in the dark, and for a brief second, Sea Swirl caught a flash of two blue orbs looking at her. “I am not like you. So I should just leave. I’m just teasing you, and you probably hate me for it. Tell me to leave! Now!”
Sea Swirl wasn’t sure what she should do. Part of her wanted to tackle Symphony onto the floor and bury her in a hug, telling her that everything was okay. Another part of her thought it would be best if she did as the Earth pony wanted and told her to go. Another part wanted to reach out and gently pull her back into bed and hold her while she cried.
“You want me to leave, don’t you,” the mare whispered. 
Sea Swirl swallowed and took a gamble based on the agony in Symphony’s voice.
“No.” 
Sea Swirl held her breath. Symphony seemed to be on a knife’s edge as she sat on the edge of the bed. She could fall either way, and while Sea Swirl knew which way she wanted her to fall, she dare not try to encourage her, out of fear that her very breath might cause her to go the other way.
“Fine,” Symphony said at last. “I will stay.” 
Sea Swirl’s body filled with relief, and for a long time the two mares remained where they were; one sitting on the edge of the bed, shivering with barely bottled emotions, and the other laying on her side, too frightened to make a move.
“Do…you want to come back to bed?” Sea Swirl finally asked when it seemed like Symphony’s silent weeping had subsided a little. 
“Will you…?” Symphony let the question trail off and she made no move to get back into the bed.
“If…if that’s what you want,” Sea Swirl answered, taking a guess. 
“It…it does not mean that. It doesn’t! Understand?” Symphony whispered as she crawled back into the bed, her back to Sea Swirl the entire time. 
“I do,” Sea Swirl answered, although she wasn’t sure Symphony was talking to her.
Slowly, the yellow mare slid back up against Sea Swirl’s body. She wasn’t as smooth this time, and Sea Swirl could feel the tension in every muscle, but she didn’t stop until she was pressed firmly against the Unicorn’s chest.
“Do you want me to put my foreleg around you again?” Sea Swirl asked.
“...Yes.” 
Sea Swirl carefully placed her foreleg around Symphony, and she was surprised when Symphony wiggled her body so that Sea Swirl could slide her other foreleg under her. When both of the Unicorn’s front hooves were firmly around Symphony’s chest, the mare wrapped one of her own forelegs around them and held them there.
“Hind legs too,” Symphony whispered. She started to force one of her legs between Sea Swirl’s back legs.
“Uh, Symphony? I’m not sure that’s such a—”
“If this is what I have do for it,” Symphony’s free hoof reached back and found Sea Swirl’s stomach, and then slowly moved down “then…I don’t mind.”
“Oh no,” Sea Swirl said quickly. She parted her hind legs just enough for Symphony’s, and when the mare seemed to find a comfortable position, Sea Swirl wrapped the mare’s back leg with her own. “That’s, um…you don’t need to do that. But…are you sure you don’t mind? You’re pretty close to my…you know.”
“I do not mind,” the mare answered. “You have controlled yourself all the other times. I doubt tonight will be different.”
“What if…what if I want it to be different tonight?” Sea Swirl felt the blood drain from her face. “Shit! I didn’t mean that! Just forget I said it! Please!”
“As I said,” Symphony whispered without turning around. Her free hoof came up in the darkness, but it made no move toward Sea Swirl this time. 
Sea Swirl stared at the hoof for a moment, and then nuzzled closer to Symphony. She moved her head until her chin was touching Symphony’s shoulder. The mare’s purple mane tickled her muzzle in the dark, and she caught a faint scent of her own shampoo coming from it. 
“Symphony,” she whispered. “Are you…okay?”
“No.”
“Do you…should we talk about it?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
A long moment of silence, and then, “Yes.”
Sea Swirl blinked. “Okay.”
“I like being held. This…it makes me feel…I don’t know. I simply like it. But it doesn’t mean that I…like mares. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Sea Swirl wanted to ask what Symphony offering to pleasure her was all about then, but she didn’t think now was a good time. 
“You met my parents. You saw what they’re like.”
“Yes.” 
“They care about me, in their own twisted way, but…”
“I understand.”
“Then all you have to do is hold me.” Sea Swirl felt a few drops of liquid splash on her forelegs. “Make me feel like…like this.”
“Got it,” Sea Swirl whispered as she squeezed the mare a little tighter. 
	
> Music in the Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sea Swirl almost didn’t see the Unicorn that had just walked into her shop. She was too busy trying to stay afloat the mass of ponies swarming around her. It was Hearth’s Warming Eve, and she was fairly certain that half of Canterlot was in her shop right now, and that the other half had either already come, or would pass through before the end of the day. 
But Sea Swirl had seen the pony with the wild blue mane walk in, and a sense of panic instantly filled her chest. The blue hues were a rare color for a pony’s mane in Canterlot, and Sea Swirl could only think of one pony that would dare to sport them in the royal city.
She carefully wiggled her way through the crowd until she saw the new customer. The moment she recognized her, a rock dropped into her stomach.
Vinyl Scratch was in her store! Which meant that whatever business had been keeping her away from Canterlot was over, and she was available to play at the New Year party. 
And that might mean that Symphony would get passed over to play at the event.
Trying to calm her rising panic, Sea Swirl swallowed and was about to walk the last few paces over to Vinyl, when she noticed the Unicorn shake her head and turn to leave. For a moment, Sea Swirl was relieved, but then she realized that letting Vinyl leave would be a mistake. She had to find out as much as she could about the Unicorn being back in town.
“Hey Vinyl!” she called as she raised her hoof and waved. “Welcome to my store.”
Vinyl turned around and gave her a confused look as she approached. “Um…hey,” the white Unicorn said, tilting her head to the side. “Um…listen. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but, uh…who are you? Have we met?”
Sea Swirl chuckled. She’d heard that Vinyl didn’t exactly blend in with Canterlot’s society, but now she knew it was a fact. “What? No, of course not.”
“Then, uh, how did you—?”
“Are you kidding?” Sea Swirl asked, a smile spreading across her face despite her nervousness. Vinyl was kind of a celebrity, after all. “Who hasn’t heard of the legendary D.J. Pon-three?”
Am I saying that right? Sea Swirl thought to herself as Vinyl stared at her from behind her sunglasses.  She had never been sure how to pronounce Vinyl’s stage name. 
“Well, uh, thanks.”
Sea Swirl decided she’d start the conversation off naturally, instead of just diving in for information. “So, what brings you here?”
“Oh, I was just leaving, actually.”
A small twinge of embarrassment shot through Sea Swirl as her ears drooped. She took great pride in her work, after all. “Oh. Nothing to your liking then?”
“More like nothing in my price range,” Vinyl replied as her white cheeks flushed with color. “Being a D.J. doesn’t exactly pay well. At least, not this well.”
Sea Swirl blinked her raspberry eyes in surprise a few times and laughed, drawing a few stares from her customers. “Is that all?” she asked. “Tch. I can solve that for you easy.”
“But—”
“What’s the occasion?” she asked, cutting off the Unicorn’s protest. She genuinely wanted to help Vinyl, but she also had another reason for asking. If the mare said it was for the New Year party, the Sea Swirl’s dreams were about to be broken. 
“Um, it’s a gift.”
“For?” Sea Swirl asked as she breathed a sigh of relief. So it wasn’t for the party it seemed. 
“My marefriend, Octavia.” 
“Octavia…” Sea Swirl’s blood ran cold. Vinyl being back in town was bad enough, but now Octavia—the mare Princess Celesita had called the belle Canterlot’s musical world—was back too? This was bad. If Celestia found out about this before Sea Swirl had a chance to talk to Symphony…
Remembering that she was supposed to be helping her customer, Sea Swirl shook her head to clear it. “Classy then.”
“The classiest,” Vinyl said with a glow that Sea Swirl recognized all too well. “I heard this place was all the rage, so—”
“It is!” Sea Swirl said. She puffed her chest out a little, but then she smiled to herself and leaned in to whisper to Vinyl. “If you want to be the talk of Canterlot and show other ponies up. Does Octavia strike you as that type of pony?”
“No,” Vinyl said instantly, with an assurance that Sea Swirl was a little jealous of. 
“Exactly. I knew she couldn’t be if she was with you.” Sea Swirl had heard the gossip around Octavia, and how she was dating a mare below her standing, according to a lot of ponies. No doubt the cellist heard it as well, but she chose not to let it get to her. Sea Swirl respected her for that. 
“So, uh…are you saying I shouldn’t be in your shop?” Vinyl asked.
“No, not that,” the Unicorn replied. “But I think you’re looking at the wrong stuff. You want your gift to be special, right? Something that is meant for Octavia and Octavia alone, not something for other ponies to gawk at.”
Sea Swirl had been in Canterlot long enough to know when a pony was truly shopping for another pony, and when they were just trying to find a way to show off that involved another pony. 
“Yeah!” Vinyl said, drawing a few glares from some customers, but making Sea Swirl smile. “Er, I mean, that sounds perfect.”
“Follow me then,” Sea Swirl said. She began to make her way to the back of her shop, brushing past customers trying to get her attention and politely telling others that they would have to wait for a few minutes. She finally made it to her back counter, and when she made sure that Vinyl had managed to follow her through the crowd, she ducked down and began to search for a box on the floor. 
“Here it is,” Sea Swirl whispered as she pulled out the small box. She levitated it up onto the countertop and then popped it open, revealing two small grey pebble earrings resting on a velvet cushion. 
“What are they?” Vinyl asked with a confused look. 
“Touch one,” Sea Swirl replied with a grin, deciding it was better if Vinyl saw what the stones did before Sea Swirl tried to explain them. She unconsciously leaned forward and stared at the stones, waiting to see if they worked the way she expected them to once Vinyl touched them. 
“What’s going to happen?” Vinyl asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
Sea Swirl raised her eyes, not sure why the Unicorn sounded so worried. “Touch one and see.”
Vinyl’s white hoof reached out and carefully touched one of the grey stones. For a second, it remained its lifeless color, but then Sea Swirl saw it change. Its grey became purer, closer to the color of ash. She noticed Vinyl take her sunglasses off and then the stone suddenly changed to dark black. Vinyl gasped, and then the stone changed to a rich purple before Vinyl pulled her hoof away. 
“Pretty neat, huh?” Sea Swirl said. Without thinking, she reached out and touched one of the stones herself. It changed to a familiar purple color, and then it shifted to a calming yellow hue, one that always filled Sea Swirl’s eyes when she woke up next to—
Sea Swirl pulled her hoof away quickly and cleared her throat. “They’re paired love stones,” she said, hoping to cover her own slipup with the earrings. “Rather hard to come by.” 
“I’ve never heard of them,” Vinyl said with a raised eyebrow, but her eyes remained fixed on the two dull pebbles. 
“Most ponies don’t know what they are,” Sea Swirl responded. She had found this pair on one of her recent trips to the ocean, and had been saving them for somepony special. She figured the lost Unicorn standing in front of her right now was a good choice. “I bet that, if I showed these to anypony else here, they wouldn’t react the same way. They only work when the pony touching them is thinking about another pony they care about. Otherwise, they just stay this grey color.”
Vinyl’s eyes finally left the stones and she looked around Sea Swirl’s crowded shop for a bit before looking back at Sea Swirl. “Look, I know Canterlot can be a bit stuffy, but surely they can at least feel love.”
Sea Swirl gave a wistful smile. “Love, yes. But how many ponies here right now do you think are only thinking about the pony they care about? How many are thinking about how good they would look in my jewels? Or how much social standing they’d gain if their wife was seen wearing something?” Sea Swirl had learned to read ponies’ body language in Canterlot, and she was positive that no pony else in the store was shopping exclusively for somepony else. 
The sigh and sagging shoulders on Vinyl revealed that she had likely come to the same conclusion. She looked at the stones for a few seconds, and then asked, “How much?”
Sea Swirl supposed she could start acting like a Canterlot pony with that question. By the look of resignation on Vinyl’s face, it was clear that the D.J. was expecting to pay out her of her muzzle, and then some. Plus, she was buying these for Octavia, and if Octavia was planning part of her New Year’s outfit around them, then making it so Vinyl couldn’t purchase them would possibly hinder the cellist’s chances of performing.
“How much do you have?” Sea Swirl replied, pushing the cruel thought out of her mind without a moment’s hesitation. She had gotten along just fine in Canterlot being herself up until now. She wasn’t about to change that. She would just have to talk to Celestia soon, which meant that she’d need to get Symphony to play; hopefully tonight, otherwise the Princess might decide to go with Vinyl for the entertainment.
Sea Swirl watched Vinyl struggle for a moment, and then the white Unicorn carefully said, “One hundred bits.”
“Fifty bits then,” Sea Swirl said with a smile. The love stones were worth a lot more than that, but the look of surprise on Vinyl’s face was enough for Sea Swirl to swallow the loss.
“Really?” Vinyl replied, her ears standing straight up. “I mean, are you sure? You said they’re hard to come by and—”
“And so far no pony else is even remotely interested in them,” Sea Swirl countered. While these stones were pricey, they were also kind of hard to sell in a town like Canterlot. And she was positive that giving them to Symphony was a terrible idea at the moment. “Of course, if you’d rather buy one of my fully priced items, I’m certain you can find—”
“No, no!” Vinyl said quickly, instantly yanking at the flap on her saddlebag to get her bits. “I’ll take them. Fifty bits it is.”
“Thanks, Vinyl,” Sea Swirl said as she swept the bits off her counter and into her register. “I’m sure Octavia will love them.” As she said the Earth pony’s name, an idea suddenly sprang into her head. “Oh, before you go, could I ask you a favor?”
“Sure,” Vinyl said as she closed the paired love stone’s case and carefully set it inside her saddlebag. 
“Um…I, uh, close in two hours for Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Sea Swirl started, trying to find the right words. What she was about to ask kind of felt like a betrayal of Symphony, but at the same time, she figured Octavia would be the best pony to ask about Symphony’s gift. “Could you, um…stop by then? And bring Octavia?”
If she’s even back in Canterlot, Sea Swirl thought hopefully.
“I don’t know,” Vinyl said after a moment. “It’s Hearth’s Warming Eve. I’m sure Octy will want to be spending time with her family.”
“Oh, okay,” Sea Swirl answered. “I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.” So Octavia was back in Canterlot. That was bad news for Symphony if Sea Swirl couldn’t get her play soon. Tonight was turning into her best, and last, hope.
On the plus side, Sea Swirl was hoping the famous cellist would go over Symphony’s bow before Sea Swirl gave it to her, just to make sure it was right.
“Well, back to the grind,” Sea Swirl said with a slightly forced smile as she looked at the swarm of ponies in her store. “I know Octavia is going to love those earrings. Thanks for stopping by.” She started to make her way around the counter and back into the sea of flanks, manes, and tails, but Vinyl stopped her.
“But,” the Unicorn said quickly, “I’ll ask her. If she says yes, we’ll be here for sure.”
“Really?” Sea Swirl felt a smile plaster itself across her face. “Oh, thank you so much! I promise it won’t take long. Just like, literally, two minutes of her time. I promise.”
“Got it,” Vinyl said, and with that, Sea Swirl dove headlong back into her busy store. She hadn’t been entirely truthful with Vinyl. She actually closed in an hour and a half, but she still needed to stop by the music shop to pick up Symphony’s bow. The mare there had promised she’d hold it until Sea Swirl stopped by this evening to pick it up, especially after the generous tip Sea Swirl had offered her. 
The rest of Sea Swirl’s shift was a blur of demanding ponies all wanting to be served first, but as it came closer to closing time, Sea Swirl finally started to notice the crowd thinning out. She helped the last pony—a rather attractive Pegasus with a golden mane—pick out something to give her stallion three minutes before her store closed. She had already flipped her sign in the window over to closed before the Pegasus was fully out the door. 
“Finally,” the Unicorn said as she sank to the floor. It was cold and a little wet from ponies tracking in the snow that had started falling, but she didn’t care. Every part of her hurt, and for a moment she just wanted to stay on the ground and close her eyes, but the thought of Symphony and her present drove the Unicorn to stand again.
Wrapping a scarf around her neck and tucking her head inside a beanie, the pony walked out into the dimming sunlight and locked her shop. The cold air immediately made its presence known as it bit her muzzle, but after a few deep breaths, she pushed the chilliness aside and began to make her way back to Winds and Strings. 
The last of the holiday shoppers were still out, trotting from store to store in hopes of finding that last gift, but otherwise the streets of Canterlot were pleasantly empty. It made it much easier for Sea Swirl to get to the store, and while the snowfall was picking up, the weather ponies hadn’t dumped enough for it to be an actual hazard for her yet. 
Sea Swirl reached the shop just in time. The shop owner was in the middle of closing down, exstingushing lamps and closing display cases when Sea Swirl walked in. 
“I’m sorry, but I’m clo—oh! Miss Sea Swirl, just in time!” the mare said when she saw who had just walked in. 
“I got here as fast as I could,” the Unicorn replied. “I hope I’m not too late.”
The mare waved her hoof. “Please. You said you’d be back around this time, so I was expecting you. Would you like to see it?”
“It’s finished then?”
The crimson Unicorn smirked. “Miss Sea Swirl, you insult me. Of course it’s finished. This is Canterlot. Businesses live and die on their reputation and word of mouth.”
Sea Swirl chuckled at the remark. “Fair point.”
The shopkeeper levitated the familiar case that held Symphony’s bow. She floated it in front of Sea Swirl and then popped it open. 
“Good as new,” the mare said. “Better, even, if I do say so myself.”
“Nice!” Sea Swirl said. She couldn’t really tell much about the bow by looking at it, but she did notice that all the strings were attached again, and that was what was important. 
She also caught the different shades of purple and violet running through the strings. She hoped Symphony would appreciate that. 
“It’s all ready to go,” the mare said as she closed the case. Sea Swirl took it with her own magic and carefully placed it in her saddlebag. “I think she’ll like it.”
“I hope so,” Sea Swirl said as she gave the shopkeeper the last part of the payment. “Thanks again. Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve!”
“You too,” the mare replied as Sea Swirl left the shop. The sun had gone down even more, and now the lamps were being lit in the city. Looking at a nearby clock, Sea Swirl realized she had about ten minutes to get back to her shop and hopefully meet Vinyl and Octavia. 
After that, it was back home to meet Symphony and…
Sea Swirl’s mind wondered about the last part of the sentence as she began to trudge through the ever-increasing snow. 


*                                                  *                                                  *


Symphony had done her best to put Sea Swirl’s home back in order. While she had spent the past few days helping the Unicorn run her makeshift shop in Canterlot, she had asked Sea Swirl if she could have today off. Thankfully, Sea Swirl had agreed without a second thought—and without any questions—and thus Symphony had spent the vast majority of Hearth’s Warming Eve day running around Canterlot in a frustrated mess.
Sea Swirl had said she had gotten a gift for Symphony, which meant that Symphony had to get a gift for Sea Swirl. But what was she supposed to get her? The Unicorn was clearly not wanting for anything because of her cushy career. And while Symphony’s financial situation had slowly improved ever since she had started working for Sea Swirl, she was not exactly swimming in bits, so anything extremely fancy was out too.
Regrettably, extremely fancy was all Canterlot seemed to sell. Plus, Symphony had spent the whole trip with the gnawing sensation that just picking something fancy—something a normal Canterlot pony would like—would not be enough for Sea Swirl.
She had all but given up, sitting down for a cup of tea, when a rather annoying pony had joined her. While the experience had been less than pleasant, the mare had given Symphony an idea of what to give Sea Swirl. 
The yellow mare had returned to Sea Swirl place then, using the spare key to gain entrance, and had immediately looked behind the door. Sure enough, her violin case had been resting there, just as she had left it when Sea Swirl had given it to her.
Symphony had realized she’d need to get the bow restrung, but that would only take an hour or so, and there was still plenty of time before Sea Swirl came home. Content that she had finally found a solution to her dilemma, the mare had opened the case—
And immediately gone into panic mode. Her bow had not been in her case. She had spent the last hour trying to find it, going through each room in Sea Swirl’s house. She had returned to the case dozens of times, hoping that the missing piece would somehow magically reappear. She had tossed pillows on the floor, looked under the bed and behind furniture, and had even gone through some of Sea Swirl’s more…private drawers, but she had come up empty hoofed. 
When Symphony had finally realized that she could easily just go buy another bow, her frustration had disappeared—only to be renewed a moment later when she had seen the clock. All the shops were no doubt closed now, and Sea Swirl was probably on her way home.
“If only I hadn’t broken the stupid thing!” Symphony hissed to herself as she sat on Sea Swirl’s couch in the growing darkness. When the Unicorn had first presented the violin—Symphony’s violin—to her, Symphony had been furious. A thrift shop? So that stupid yokel pony and her stuck up marefriend had pawned Symphony’s violin for a few bits?  That thought, along with all the other painful emotions that had come with seeing her violin again, had made her so upset that she had snapped the strings with her hoof. It hadn’t been hard, and she had made sure that Sea Swirl hadn’t seen her do it.
Now though, the yellow mare was regretting the decision. She felt something run down her cheek as she stared at her lonely violin, and when she touched her face, she was surprised to find a tear.
“Crying?” the mare asked herself, disgust creeping into her voice. “I am crying over this? WHY?” She stood up from the couch, knocking the violin off her lap and onto a cushion. “No. No! I am not crying over this! So what if I can’t get that Unicorn a gift? She doesn’t need anything! Look at this place.” She waved a hoof around the plush living room that she had grown familiar with over the past few weeks. “She might be more well off than my parents! Why should I bother getting her anything at all!”
Symphony stomped around the living room, gritting her teeth and breathing through her nose. Her gaze kept returning to her violin—the same one Sea Swirl had found in a pawn shop after Fiddlesticks and Beauty Bitch or whatever had stolen it—until the sight of the instrument consumed her with rage. Screaming, she ran over to it, yanked it out of the case, and raised it above her head as she stood on her hind legs. 
“I HATE YOU!” she yelled, but she couldn’t bring herself to swing the makeshift club down. She told herself she didn’t want to risk damaging something in Sea Swirl’s home, but she knew that wasn’t the real reason for her reluctance. 
“Stop crying!” she screamed at herself as she slowly put the instrument down. The room was dark now, save for a small lamp Sea Swirl always left on when Symphony was staying over. “I don’t care about her! I don’t!” She sank onto the couch and closed the case, chanting the words over and over until they were just a mumbled mess of sound in the dark. 
She didn’t care about Sea Swirl like that. She wasn’t a fillyfooler. Just because she liked having the Unicorn hold her didn’t mean she was attracted to her. Just because she was willing to sexually pleasure her to keep the arrangement they had didn’t mean anything either.
“It just means that I’m…I’m broken.” Symphony let out a harsh laugh as the word left her mouth. She was broken, wasn’t she? She was willing—she had even suggested it herself—to make Sea Swirl climax just so the Unicorn would keep allowing her to stay and keep holding her.
“What the buck is wrong with me?” the violist asked as tears threatened her eyes once more. “And what if she hadn’t turned me down? What if that fillyfooler had said yes?” Symphony started laughing to herself as tears finally escaped in full force. “I would have done it, too. I would have slipped my hoof right there and done it. And when she covered me in her filth and asked for more, I would have done it again. I would have done it over and over, until my entire leg was covered in her, just so she’d keep bucking HOLDING ME!”
Symphony curled up in a ball and viciously switched between laughing and crying. Eventually, she wore herself out and just stayed still, drowning in the darkness and misery. 
A sudden trio of knocks at the door caused all the pain to flee from Symphony’s body. She held her breath, hoping that if she made no movement, the next moment would never come. 
The sound of Sea Swirl’s door creaking open flooded the dark room. A moment later, a voice called out in the darkness, “Symphony, I’m home. Are…are you here?”
Symphony suddenly found it hard to breathe. “Relax!” she whispered to herself. She forced herself to sit up on the couch, but even though the room was still dark, she made sure she did not turn to face the Unicorn for fear of what her face looked like. 
“Yes,” she said once she was certain her voice would not crack. 
“Glad you could make it,” Sea Swirl answered, and Symphony heard the slight uptick in the mare’s voice. Picking it out was second nature to Symphony now. 
“I had nowhere else to be,” Symphony replied, her back still to Sea Swirl as the mare lit another lamp in the house to banish the darkness; and Symphony’s defense with it. 
“Sorry I’m kind of later. The store was crazy busy and—”
Symphony almost turned around when she heard the sound of rustling and Sea Swirl’s sudden stop, but she beat down the urge and simply asked, “And what?”
Sea Swirl mumbled something and Symphony heard the Unicorn smack her forehead. 
“Is something the matter?” Symphony asked. She started to turn around—out of curiosity and not concern, she told herself—but thought better of it before she completely faced the Unicorn. She was willing to bet her face was a mess, and the last thing she wanted was Sea Swirl worrying over her. 
“Er, well, it’s…it’s about your present.”
Symphony’s blood boiled and froze at the same time. “Forget it.”
“What?” The hurt in Sea Swirl’s voice bothered Symphony more than she cared to admit. 
“I said to forget it. Give it to somepony else.”
“But it’s for you.” Again, the pain in the Unicorn’s voice tore at Symphony in ways she didn’t want to acknowledge. 
“Well I don’t want it!” Symphony shouted, louder than she meant to. She hung her head and waited for Sea Swirl to…do something to make the situation better. She always did. 
“Um…Symphony? Is…something bothering you?” the Unicorn asked. It sounded like she was standing right behind Symphony now, but the Earth pony refused to turn around and face her. 
“This whole stupid holiday is bothering me,” Symphony said, her voice threatening to crack. Why was Sea Swirl always so nice to her, even when Symphony was treating her so poorly? Didn’t this mare get it? Symphony wasn’t worth being nice to, much less getting a present for. 
“Um…why is that?” Sea Swirl asked. Symphony saw her sit down, carefully, on the far end of the couch. Even now, she knew Sea Swirl was trying to give her space because she had told the Unicorn repeatedly that she was not interested mares, and that she had better not try anything with Symphony. 
“I just don’t like this whole gift-giving idea,” Symphony answered. Because I couldn’t find you anything! And when I finally did think of something, it blew up in my face! And you’re not going to care one bit! You’re still going to be happy that I’m just here! Even though I told you you’ll NEVER get what you want from me. Not that you’d take it, because even when I offered it to you, you turned me down! 
Stop caring about me! I don’t care about you! 
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I completely forgot to wrap yours.”
Sea Swirl’s casual comment was like a bolt of light through Symphony’s growing storm of dark thoughts. It cut through all of them with such force that Symphony’s rage only built from the shock.
“I told you I don’t want it!” Symphony yelled as she turned to face the Unicorn. A small part of her felt sorry for her actions as Sea Swirl jumped, but the darkness in her mind relished the look of surprise and unlocked all the emotional baggage that the violist had been struggling to hold in.
“You…you…you can just go out and, and…and buy me whatever you want! Symphony tried to scream the words, but she couldn’t. Tears attacked her once again, and her accusation came out more as a choked confession. “You think it’s not a big deal,” she spat, but it was more from fighting back tears than actual venom. “What’s a gift to a pony who can afford everything, right?”
“You stop right there!” If Sea Swirl’s casual remark about wrapping Symphony’s gift had been a bolt of light, her sudden shout was akin to Princess Celestia unleashing the full fury of the sun on Symphony. It was the Earth pony’s turn to jump, and she couldn’t help but force herself back a little into the couch. 
That’s it! she thought after she regained herself. Hate me! I’ve crossed a line now, haven’t I? Kick me out. Get rid of me, just like the useless trash I am! Stop caring about me so I don’t care about you!
“You think I just went out and bought you something willy-nilly?” Sea Swirl asked, her tone sucking out all the bile in Symphony’s defiant mind. “You think I didn’t put any thought into what to get you? After all the time we’ve spent together, do you really believe I think so little of you? ‘Oh, this is expensive, so I’m sure she’ll love it.’“
Symphony couldn’t stand to look at Sea Swirl’s pulsing reddish eyes anymore. She hung her head and whispered, “No.” Of course Sea Swirl wasn’t like that. It was why Symphony could tolerate being around her. It was why Symphony liked being around her.
“Do you think so little of me?”
A primal fear took over Symphony when she heard the pain in Sea Swirl’s voice. Her head whipped up and she looked right at the Unicorn when she said, “No!” Then, she regained her composure and lowered her head again as the fight drained out of her. “It’s just…I didn’t get you anything.”
“Is that why you’re upset?” Sea Swirl asked. “Symphony, I don’t need anything. I’m—”
Annoyance bubbled up again in Symphony’s mind. “If you are about to feed me some cliché about my being here being the only gift you want, I will get up and leave right this second.”
“Uh…right,” Sea Swirl said quickly, and Symphony allowed herself a small smile when she saw the mare snap her mouth shut. 
“I…I tried, Sea Swirl,” Symphony said. She paused to collect thoughts and keep the uncomfortable sensation in her throat in check before she continued. “I really did. I spent all day trying to think of what to get you. I even shared a drink with some stranger who gave me advice.”
“Oh.” Something about the way Sea Swirl responded caused a small stir in Symphony’s chest. 
“And then I came up with something. It…I was excited. It wouldn’t cost anything, but it was still going to be special. And…and then…”
“What happened?”
Fearing that the Unicorn was about to reach out and touch her, Symphony reached for her violin case. She flipped it open and had to take several deep breaths as she stared at the empty space beside the instrument. 
“It’s gone,” she finally whispered. Unable to stand the sight any longer, she closed the case and allowed it to rest on her lap. 
“Um…not a music pony, Symphony,” Sea Swirl said, trying to lighten the mood with her humor. “So, uh, you’re going to have to explain. I saw a violin.”
“My bow is missing!” Symphony shouted, louder than she meant to. For some reason, after Sea Swirl had snapped at her moments ago, she was now terrified of crossing a line and having the Unicorn be angry with her.
Or worse, kick her out for the night. 
“How am I supposed to play for you if I don’t have my bow?” she asked, trying to calm herself a little. “And…I can’t afford to go out and buy a new one.”
The Unicorn said nothing as she stood up from the couch. Terrified that Sea Swirl was about to throw her out, Symphony held her breath and refused to follow the pony as she walked behind the couch and toward the front. She waited for the sound of the front door opening, but it never came. Instead, she was surprised, but happy, when Sea Swirl sat back down next to her and placed a long case on top of her violin’s case. 
“Open it,” the Unicorn said.
“Sea Swirl, I won’t accept a gift if I don’t have something for you,” Symphony warned. She refused to be a charity case, no matter how hard things were. She had already swallowed enough of her pride taking the job Sea Swirl had offered. 
And eating her food.
And using her shower.
And sleeping in her bed. 
And offering to pleasure her.
It is not as if I enjoy all of it! I don’t! I don’t care about any of it! I don’t care about her! Not…in that way!
“Just open it, Symphony.” The Earth pony was about to protest again, but then Sea Swirl whispered, “Please,” and her resolve crumbled at the soft tone. 
Struggling to stay afloat in the torrent of emotions in her chest, Symphony slowly opened the case. When she saw what was inside, she gasped and turned to Sea Swirl. “It…it was you?”
“Yeah,” Sea Swirl answered. Symphony just barely caught the hint of blush in the darkness. “Sorry about that. I borrowed it. Figured I’d get it fixed up as your gift.”
Symphony stared at the violin’s companion. She couldn’t help but feel a growing sensation of completion. Ever since her violin had been returned to her, she’d been fighting the urge to pick it up again. As much as she hated to admit it, it felt like a part of her was missing, and now that she had both the violin and her bow again, she felt…whole.
And Sea Swirl, a Unicorn, had made it happen. Without any thought of reward, she had helped Symphony piece a part of her life back together, whether she knew it or not. 
“What’s this?” Symphony asked as she pulled out a small piece of paper behind the bow. 
“Oh, that’s just a little something from, uh…Octavia.”
Symphony’s blood ran cold. How did Sea Swirl know Octavia? Had she ever mentioned the cellist around the Unicorn? No, so then how—?
My paren—them! Symphony scowled as she remembered her father and mother mocking her dreams in front of Sea Swirl the other day. 
Not fully realizing what she was doing, Symphony opened the piece of paper and read the impeccable writing out loud. 
“’Symphony. Do not give up. Do not stop playing. There is a place for you here.’”
She…honestly thinks I can do it? Even after…?
“You okay?” Sea Swirl asked, snapping Symphony out of her thoughts.
“Yes,” Symphony answered, although she wasn’t entirely sure if she was being truthful. She wasn’t sure what she feeling. All she knew was that she suddenly needed to play her violin, if only to wash away the guilt of not having any gift to give the Unicorn sitting next to her.
Symphony rose, taking the bow and violin with her. She assumed the stance that was second nature to her, and was surprised when tears came to her eyes. She placed the violin under her chin to hide the burst of emotion, and then, after a heartbeat, she pulled her bow across the strings.
Symphony’s body quivered and she closed her eyes to hold back the sudden flood in her crystal blue eyes. She wanted to take off immediately, to play until her muscles cramped and her hooves bled, but as she played a few more chords, she noticed something different in the sound. It was nothing ruinous for her, but it was enough to stop her from completely losing herself like she wanted.
The Earth pony pulled the bow across the strings a few more times before she said, “It sounds…different.”
“Uh, that might be because we had to restring it a little.”
Symphony remembered how she had snapped the strings before. She set her violin against her hind leg and lifted the bow up to eye level. She turned it a few times in the dim light, noticing that the light was reflecting oddly off the strings. “What did you use to restring it?”
“Well, uh…” Sea Swirl lowered her head and looked up at Symphony like a filly who had just been caught in the cookie jar. “The owner said I should, um…”
A cold dread washed over Symphony as she looked closer at the bow. “Did they tell you to use hair from your own tail?” she asked slowly.
“Um…yes,” Sea Swirl answered. “I thought it sounded kind of sweet, so…”
The panic that had been building in Symphony, and had threatened to explode in a fit of…something at Sea Swirl’s answer, ebbed quickly as her brain registered what the Unicorn was saying. “You did it because you thought it was sweet? Nothing else?”
“No. Why? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, it is fine,” Symphony said as she felt color come to her cheeks. “Thank you, Sea Swirl.” Part of her was disappointed that Sea Swirl had only done such a thing because she thought it was cute. If she knew what her gesture really meant to a musician, what would Symphony had done? 
I would have turned her down flat, of course! Symphony shouted in her head, but a second later a strange pain twisted in her chest and she wasn’t so sure of her thought. 
“So…is everything okay now?” Sea Swirl whispered.
Symphony studied the bow in the light for a bit longer. Would she have really turned Sea Swirl down? Using her own hair was a sign of deep affection in the musical world—a gesture that Symphony had never thought she would receive—and it had been given to Symphony by another mare. She should have been repulsed by even the thought of it, but for some reason, she could not bring herself to feel even mild annoyance. 
I don’t care about her! It was just…she was being nice! She doesn’t know what it means!
Wanting to drive the thought of Sea Swirl from her mind, Symphony placed the bow back on her violin and began to play. Her muscles remembered all the steps instantly, and before long she was swaying and twirling on her hind legs, raising and lowering her head with the music that poured out of her core. The slight vibrations running through her forelegs felt like a massage that was years overdue. The shifting weight of her mane caressed her neck and back with each subtle swing. Her ears rang with a sound that they had almost forgotten. Every part of her felt right for the first time in a long time.
As she spun once more, she opened one of her eyes no more than a sliver. Sea Swirl had dimmed the lights and was sitting on her hind legs like a puppy. The look on her face was awe, and her beautiful raspberry eyes seemed to be looking into Symphony’s body, even as they followed her every step and move. The pure rapture coming from her only served to swell Symphony’s own joy. That look. That was the look she lived for. The look that had made her want to start playing in the first place. The look of a pony so completely hypnotized, so utterly enveloped in music, that they let everything else fall away.
In that moment, Symphony saw Sea Swirl not as a Unicorn, or even as a mare. She just saw a pony who was enjoying her music beyond anything else, and it made the violinist’s heart soar. 
Symphony finished in a flurry of twists, twirls, and chords, stamping one of her back hooves as she struck the last chord. Without thinking, she tucked her violin under her right foreleg and bowed, her heart thumping against her chest.
For a second, the only sound in the room was Symphony’s own heavy breathing, but then she heard a slow clap of hooves that quickly grew to a rapid pace. Smiling to herself, she raised her head and saw Sea Swirl almost falling off of her couch as she applauded. 
“Symphony, that was…!” Sea Swirl started. She finally tumbled off the couch and practically dashed up to the Earth pony. She reached out of give her a hug, stopped for a moment, but then did so anyway, wrapping her forelegs around Symphony’s neck.
Symphony tensed immediately, but she quickly remembered that Sea Swirl was holding her like this on a pretty much a nightly basis, so she relaxed a little. “You…liked it?”
“That was amazing!” the Unicorn said as she pulled out of the hug. She kept her forelegs gently draped around Symphony’s neck though. “I’ve never heard a pony play that well! It was stunning!”
Symphony stared at the Unicorn who was less than a hoof’s distance from her muzzle. “Stunning?” she asked, staring at the eyes filled with wonder.
“Beautiful!” Sea Swirl said, leaning in closer without thinking. “It was beautiful!”
“Beautiful?” Symphony repeated, now staring at the lips that were so close she could lick them if she leaned in. “Which…part?”
“Which part?” Sea Swirl asked, throwing her head back for just a moment and then leaning in once again. “All of it! The way you played. The way you moved. The way you danced! It was all beati…ful…” Something seemed to click in Sea Swirl as she spoke, and she slowly leaned in even closer. “Um…you. You were beautiful…”
“Thanks…” Symphony found that she was leaning toward Sea Swirl too. Their eyes were locked, and Symphony found herself wanting to swim in the red pools staring back at her. “You’re…beau…”
Stop it! I’m not a fillyfooler! I’m NOT! 
Symphony blinked as the thought shredded her mind and she recoiled. The moment shattered, and the red pools that had been inviting her seemed to shift back into pupils. 
“Oh,” Sea Swirl said, stiffening instantly and pulling her forelegs off of Symphony so fast that she fell backward onto her couch. “Uh…yeah. Sorry about that! Got a little too close there, heh heh.” 
Symphony slowly lowered herself back down onto all fours. 
I don’t care about her! I don’t, I don’t, I DON’T!
“Whew, it’s probably pretty late.” Sea Swirl made an exaggerated effort to look around for her clock, but then she realized that the living room was too dark to see. “Probably time for bed.”
“Yes,” Symphony answered, still staring at the Unicorn. Why was she upset that the Unicorn had recoiled so fast? And why was she upset with herself for ruining the moment from before?
“Well, um…let’s head to bed then, huh?” Sea Swirl said. She stood up and scratched the back of her neck and then started to walk down the dark hallway to the bedroom. 
Symphony followed, watching the Unicorn’s tail flick back and forth with each step.
Stop staring at it! Stop staring at her! I’m not like that!
“Am I…?” Sea Swirl asked as the ponies climbed into the bed together. 
“Yes,” Symphony answered. She slid in next to Sea Swirl, her back pressing firmly against the Unicorn’s underside, and a moment later the familiar comfort of Sea Swirl’s legs wrapped around her. 
“Sea Swirl?” Symphony asked. 
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for my gift.” 
I do not like her! I do not care about her! She is…okay, yes, she is a friend! I have a Unicorn friend. But that is it! She is just a friend! She is—
“You’re welcome,” Sea Swirl whispered. For some reason, the Unicorn’s voice made Symphony tense in ways and places she did not mean to. She didn’t know if the Unicorn was laying extra close, or if the air flow was just right to cut through her mane, or if it was just the fact that she was still coming down from her musical high, but she was suddenly keenly aware of where she was pressing against Sea Swirl.
“Woah,” Sea Swirl whispered. “I, uh…hit a sweet spot there or something?” The mare relaxed her embrace instantly, and even started to pull away a little. 
No! 
The thought was so sharp that Symphony didn’t realize she was holding on to Sea Swirl’s forelegs, trying to pull her back, until the Unicorn spoke again.
“Okay, I’m here. I just thought that maybe we were getting a little too close to that line, so…”
Symphony wanted to scream. She wanted to rip her mind from her body and stomp it to a bloody mess. If only she had a way to prove to it, to herself, once and for all, that she didn’t like Sea Swirl, then maybe she could—
An idea jumped into Symphony’s mind. Yes, that was it. She could do that! That would prove, beyond a doubt, that she was not a fillyfooler, and that she was not attracted to Sea Swirl. 
Sea Swirl had said that they were getting close to crossing a line. But what if Symphony crossed it willingly? If she didn’t feel anything when she did, then that would settle the argument. 
“Yes…” Symphony whispered to herself. Her whole body tingled, and she couldn’t help but smile in the dark of the Unicorn’s room. Yes, this would prove it! This would prove she was straight beyond any doubt!
“Uh, Symphony?” Sea Swirl asked from behind her. “You okay? Your heart’s beating a lot faster than normal. Like…wow-level here.”
Symphony rolled over so that she was facing the Unicorn in the dark. She bit her lip as doubt set in. Was she really going to do this? 
I have to. It’s the only way to prove it.  
“Symphony?” Sea Swirl tried to pull away, but Symphony wrapped her hind legs around the Unicorn’s and her forelegs around her neck. She pulled her back in close until their muzzles were touching. “Line, Symphony! Danger close!”
Do it. Prove you’re not a fillyfooler!
Sea Swirl struggled in Symphony’s embrace, but the Earth pony refused to budge. “Symphony? Hello? I’m, uh…getting a little worried here!”
“Shut up.” With that, Symphony opened her mouth and pressed it against Sea Swirl’s. The kiss only lasted for a millisecond, but she felt Sea Swirl go completely rigid.
“What the hay are you—”
Not enough! Symphony thought as she kissed the Unicorn again. It has to be longer! I have to know that I feel nothing! 
This time Sea Swirl managed to wiggle one of her hooves free. She pressed back against Symphony’s cheek, forcing her out of the kiss. “Symphony, seriously, I don’t—”
“It’s still not enough!” Symphony growled, silencing Sea Swirl. She stared at the Unicorn; at the soft lips that Symphony had just kissed—twice—and wanted to kiss again to be sure; at the red eyes, which were now wide open with a mix of terror and delight; at the shaking hoof as it tried to hold Symphony back; at the long, slender neck that—
“Sea Swirl likes to be chocked when you kiss her. Remember that.” 
The griffon’s words sprang to life in Symphony’s mind and she rolled Sea Swirl onto her back and then straddled the Unicorn. She sat on top of her and instantly became aware of the heat coming off her lower region.
The Unicorn tried to move, tried to sit up, but Symphony pushed her back down, planting her front hooves firmly on the Unicorn’s chest. 
“Uh…not going to lie, I’ve dreamed about this a few times, but…” Sea Swirl said as she looked up at Symphony.
I don’t care about her! And I’m going to prove it!
“Is it true?” Symphony asked, putting as much ice into her voice as she could. She had to find out. She had to get these feelings in her head sorted, or risk going mad. 
“Is what true?”
“Choking.” 
Sea Swirl’s eyes went so wide that Symphony was afraid she was crushing the pony, but then she felt the mare squirm under her and watched as the Unicorn licked her lower lip and then bit it. “Um…”
“Tell me.”
“Symphony, you do that, and I’m not sure I’m going to be able to hold—”
Symphony pressed down on Sea Swirl’s throat and the mare gasped. “Do you want me to choke you? Nod or shake.”
Sea Swirl curled her lower lip. She wiggled under Symphony again and again, pressing her body—which Symphony could already tell was getting moist—against Symphony’s with each motion. It wasn’t long before Symphony realized she was doing it on purpose.
I have to prove it!
Symphony waited until Sea Swirl pressed against her again, and then she flexed her thighs and pressed down just a bit harder on the Unicorn’s throat.
Sea Swirl swore and tensed beneath Symphony. She shook violently for a moment, and then relaxed. She took several deep breaths before she locked eyes with Symphony. “Are you…are you sure? Because…if you…if you do this…I’m going…I’m going to buck you. Like…really buck you.”
“Yes,” Symphony said, the excitement she felt threatening to drown out the constant thoughts of proving herself. 
“Then do it,” Sea Swirl said, lifting her head a little so that Symphony’s hoof pressed down even more. “Choke me. Choke your little Unicorn.”
Symphony pressed down as hard as she dared and Sea Swirl’s body clenched beneath her. The Unicorn’s forelegs whipped up and planted themselves firmly on Symphony’s hips. Symphony leaned down and pressed her mouth as hard as she could against Sea Swirl’s.
I’ll prove it. When I don’t feel anything, then I’ll know I’m right! 
	
> Music in the Night II: Symphony's First (NSFW)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


(WARNING: For those that didn't see the Author's Notes in the previous chapter, 'Music in the Night', or for those that forgot, this chapter is HIGHLY Not Safe For Work. It is Symphony and Sea Swirl having sex. I would hardly call it porn myself, but it may be for other ponies. If you do not wish to read it, go back to the previous chapter and read the Author's Notes for a summary. You have been warned.)
	

Symphony’s heart was in her throat as she pressed her mouth against the Unicorn pinned beneath her. She could feel it beat as Sea Swirl’s tongue forced its way into her mouth. It pressed against the roof of her mouth and Symphony gasped at the strange sensation. She shoved the foreign object out of her and followed it into Sea Swirl’s mouth. She then returned the gesture, pressing her tongue against Sea Swirl’s mouth, and then feeling the inside of her teeth. 
The whole time, the Earth pony kept her hoof pressed firmly on the Unicorn’s neck. She relished the feeling of power that came with it. She enjoyed the pain she imagined she was inflicting, and the rush of emotion that came with it. Sea Swirl was beneath her! A Unicorn was beneath her, where they rightfully belonged! And she was at Symphony’s mercy.
Sea Swirl’s hips thrust upward and Symphony gasped as their bodies touched. The mare opened her eyes, and found herself staring at Sea Swirl’s contorted face. 
Is…is she in pain?
Symphony pulled out of the kiss, her blood racing as she watched a trail of saliva hang between their parting lips. She started to remove her hoof from Sea Swirl’s throat, but the mare quickly brought one of her own hooves up. She placed it on Symphony’s and, with her eyes still closed, shook her head ever so slightly. 
Symphony grinned and pressed back down, making the Unicorn’s mouth open a little as she moved her lavender hoof back to Symphony’s hips. Sea Swirl started grinding against the yellow mare, slowly at first, and each motion caused Symphony to clench. It wasn’t long before Symphony matched her pace—I have to make sure! Make sure it means nothing! All the way!—and began squeezing her thighs and flank together as Sea Swirl pressed against her.
Sea Swirl sped up, her hooves digging harder into Symphony’s hips.
Symphony pressed down harder, one hoof digging into Sea Swirl’s chest while the other pressed against her throat. 
Sea Swirl was now grinding so hard against Symphony that the mare felt like she was about to be thrown off. She was certain Sea Swirl was going to throw her, when suddenly the Unicorn froze. Her breathing stopped as her whole body went stiff beneath Symphony. Then she started twitched, jerking her hips and lower body as her hooves relaxed on Symphony before her entire body seemed to sink into the bed. 
“I…I haven’t…” Sea Swirl panted as she lay under Symphony. Her raspberry eyes opened and she flashed a weak, but happy, smile up at the mare in the dark. “Much better than a dream…”
Symphony stared down at her and felt a strange sensation in her chest. She smiled back, much to her horror, as she removed her hoof from the Unicorn’s throat and carefully placed it on her stomach. 
The Earth pony’s blood was pumping so hard that she felt like her flesh would tear. Worse, the sight of Sea Swirl smiling beneath her was making her happy. The Unicorn had just used her, covered her lower region in her…fluids, and Symphony was happy about it.
No I’m not! Symphony thought. More! I need more to get this out of me. This is just…heat. Yes, that is all. 
“Sit up,” Symphony said.
“Uh, sure,” Sea Swirl said as she sat up, Symphony still sitting on her lap. “Did you get to finis—eep!?”
Sea Swirl’s question became a mumbled mess as Symphony pulled the Unicorn close, found her horn in her mane, and closed her mouth around it. She had heard that Unicorns melted when their horns were touched, so she began to twirl her tongue around the pointed bone, tracing the swirling pattern as she did. 
Symphony winched and pulled back as something wet touched her chest. She pulled away from the horn and looked down to see Sea Swirl burying her muzzle in Symphony’s fur. A moment later, two eyes looked up at her. 
“Don’t stop,” the Unicorn mumbled. As she spoke, she carefully kissed Symphony’s chest again and shivers unlike anything Symphony had ever felt rushed through her. Hoping that Sea Swirl would do it again, Symphony leaned forward and closed her mouth around the horn once more.
Sea Swirl moaned beneath her, and a moment later, Symphony felt forelegs wrap around her back and the familiar grinding returned. Symphony did not wait this time. She immediately joined the Unicorn’s pace, pressing against her in perfect rhythm. 
Almost there…then…then I’ll…prove…
Symphony shoved the thought aside. She sucked on the horn in her mouth and Sea Swirl made a sound that the Earth pony had never heard. She also noticed that the Unicorn had put extra force behind her thrust when she did. Curious, Symphony sucked on the horn again, pulling her lips over it, and then pressing back down. Sea Swirl’s grinding matched her movements perfectly.
Symphony continued holding the Unicorn’s horn in her mouth as their bodies pressed against each other. This time, it was Symphony that went stiff. She gasped and spit the horn and mane from her mouth as Sea Swirl pushed her over the limit. Her breathing became ragged and she leaned forward, wrapping her forelegs around the Unicorn’s neck as her body finished its reaction. 
Sweet Celestia! Symphony thought as she leaned on the Unicorn. “That…was…”
“Wow, Symphony,” Sea Swirl whispered. A hoof began to carefully stroke the Earth pony’s back, and Symphony found herself turning into a mess on top of the pony. “I'm soaked. Was…? This wasn’t your first…was it?”
Symphony’s eyes went wide as she realized the truth behind Sea Swirl’s question. It…! Just because it was, doesn’t mean anything! THIS doesn’t mean anything! Of course I…climaxed. It is just my body reacting to pleasurable stimulus. 
Furious, Symphony shoved Sea Swirl back down on the bed. The mare flopped down, flinging her forelegs out for dramatic affect, and smiled up at Symphony. 
“You going to punish your Unicorn again?” she asked with a smirk. “Please.”
“You…!” Symphony snarled. “Filthy Unicorn!”
“Yes!”
Symphony pressed her hooves against Sea Swirl’s gut as she started to grind against her as hard as she could. 
It doesn’t mean anything! I am just in heat! A mare needs more than just one time! I need to make sure, so I have to do it again!
Symphony moved so quickly that she finished faster than she wanted to. This time, she heard herself finish, and when she opened her eyes, the smile on Sea Swirl’s face told her that the Unicorn had heard it too. 
Symphony stared at the smiling face, rage building in her chest every second. But it wasn’t directed at the pony who had just given Symphony her first sexual experience. It was directed inward, at the yellow mare herself, as her mind screamed at her to stop feeling so content about those two raspberry pools looking up at her with nothing but warmth in them. 
“Play me?” Sea Swirl asked. 
Symphony blinked, her rage dissolving as embarrassment took over. Was that some sort of secret fillyfooler phrase? “I’m, um…afraid I do not…I have never been with another mare, so…”
Sea Swirl wiggled out from under Symphony—No, come back!—but she remained on her back. She patted the bed, and Symphony laid down next to her. Without a word, Sea Swirl took Symphony’s hoof and placed it between her hind legs.
The first thing Symphony noticed was that Sea Swirl’s inner thighs were wet. Not just wet, but soaked. She almost recoiled, but the thrill of the unknown stopped her. The next thing she noticed was how warm it was, followed quickly by the unfamiliar touch of forbidden flesh.
If mother or father saw this…! Symphony thought as a twisted smile formed on her face. She looked at Sea Swirl and found the Unicorn staring at her, biting her lip and breathing in shallow gasps. 
“What…should I do?”
Sea Swirl’s nostrils flared with each breath. “Pretend I’m your violin.”
Symphony cocked her head to the side, and then looked down to where her hoof was resting. Slowly, she pulled it across Sea Swirl. The Unicorn whimpered and twisted a little, and Symphony immediately pulled her hoof away. 
“Don’t stop…!”
Symphony looked up at the Unicorn’s pleading face. “Which one of us is the musician?”
“Please?”
Symphony placed her hoof on Sea Swirl again and pulled it across her once more, slower and longer this time, before yanking it away. The torment on the Unicorn’s face was better than anything Symphony had ever seen. “Which. One?”
“Y-You…” Sea Swirl whimpered.
“Exactly.” Symphony stroked her again, relishing the sight of Sea Swirl twisting just from a simple touch. “Do you know anything about music?”
“Sym…Symphony, please—ah!” 
“Do you?” Symphony demanded, putting a little force into her voice as she stroked the Unicorn up and down in a fast motion before removing her hoof. 
“No! I’m just a stupid Unicorn!”
That’s right! This is where you belong! You’re nothing but a Unicorn! Who’s in charge now, you stuck up pony?
“Exactly,” Symphony whispered, her fur tingling at the pleading tone that the Unicorn used. “So you should know better than to interrupt the professional. I.” One stroke and a gasp. “Don’t.” Stoke and gasp. “Tell.” Stroke, gasp. “You.” Stroke. “How.” Gasp. “To.” Stroke. “Dive!”
Symphony angled her hoof a little so that the tip slipped inside Sea Swirl. The Unicorn’s eyes popped open and she tried to sit up, but Symphony pressed her back down with her other hoof and went to work. She stroked and rubbed Sea Swirl the same way she played her violin, her gaze constantly shifting between her flowing hoof and the Unicorn’s ever-changing face. She felt a sneer come to her face as she watched the pony writhe beneath her power, and the sight only made her move her hoof faster.
Soon, the room was filled with the sound of the pony’s moans and gasped, mixed with the slushing and squishing noises between her thighs. Symphony’s hoof was soaked, and she took pleasure wiping it against Sea Swirl’s inner thighs. She loved being covered in the Unicorn’s filth, and relished smearing it across her lavender body. 
See? You mean nothing to me! I’m using you! I’m using you, and I’m going to keep using you until you’ve covered me in all of your mess!
Symphony moved her hoof as fast as she could and Sea Swirl screamed. She reached out with her foreleg and yanked Symphony into a kiss. The mare didn’t fight it, pressing her mouth against the Unicorn’s as she slowly continued to stroke Sea Swirl’s moist body. 
Symphony pulled out of the kiss, but she did not pull away. She stared down at the Unicorn, feeling every inch of her body press against hers with every breath. She watched the muscles in her throat tighten and contract slowly, watched her chest rise and fall in the dim light, and without realizing what she was doing, Symphony slowly began to drag her dripping hoof up Sea Swirl’s lavender body. She wiped it a few times on the pony’s chest before leaving it there to rest.
Sea Swirl tilted her head up and licked Symphony’s hoof, then lay down and smiled. 
“That was…” Part of Symphony, the part that kept telling her that this was nothing, that this was just her body going through a biological experience, found the motion disgusting. 
But the other part, the part that she was desperately trying to silence, screamed with delight at the sight of this Unicorn, this pony from a tribe that always thought they were better than everypony else, licking her own mess off of Symphony’s sticky hoof. 
“Your turn,” Sea Swirl said, and Symphony caught a hint of something mischevious in the Unicorn’s voice. But before she could process it, she was suddenly flipped onto her back and in a flash, Sea Swirl was on top of her. 
A cold sweat gripped Symphony as she wiggled under the Unicorn. “W-What are you—!” She stopped when Sea Swirl leaned in and kissed her neck. The Earth pony tensed for a moment as Sea Swirl sucked on her, but then she melted as the Unicorn slowly worked down her neck, kissing every part of it and the gently sucking on it before moving on.
When Sea Swirl reached Symphony’s collarbone, the mare felt like her head had separated from her body. But then the Unicorn’s tongue began tracing the bone under her fur, and the pressure sent an unfamiliar, but not unpleasant, tingling down Symphony’s left foreleg. Sea Swirl repeated the gesture on the other side and Symphony’s right foreleg soon matched her left.
Symphony raised her head and made eye contact with Sea Swirl. The Unicorn’s chin was resting on Symphony’s chest and she flashed a smile, then she looked down and began running her tongue down Symphony’s yellow fur. The Earth pony gasped quietly as the Unicorn traced a pattern in her coat, and then her hind leg jerked when she felt the tongue lick the curve of her hip. 
“S-S-S-Sea…Swirl…?” Symphony stammered. It took all her effort to raise her head again, and this time she saw the Unicorn’s head was between her hind legs. “What…? What are you…going to…?”
“Take a deep breath,” The Unicorn whispered. She reached up and stroked Symphony’s stomach with her hoof and the Earth pony quivered. 
“Are….are you sure…that is…acceptable…?”
“You’ll love it.”
Not I won’t! This is it! This is the last thing we can do! And when I don’t love it, then I’ll know I’m right. I won’t be like her! I won’t, I won’t! I’m not a—!
Symphony screamed when Sea Swirl’s tongue found its mark. All thoughts fled from her mind, and her body reacted on pure pleasure instinct. Her thighs clenched, pressing against the Unicorn’s head. She crossed her hind legs across the Unicorn’s back, refusing to let her go. She pushed her hips up, hoping the tongue could find more space to claim. She reached down with her forelegs and buried her hooves in the Unicorn’s hair, forcing her face deeper.
More. More more MORE! 
The word kept tearing through Symphony’s skull as she experienced sensations that she had never known she wanted until that very second. She held the Unicorn in place, her body unconsciously moving with every flick and twist of the tongue, until she could take no more. She pressed down harder with her front hooves, squeezed firmer with her thighs, and dug her hind legs deeper into the Unicorn’s back as the now-familiar sound of sloshing liquid mixed with her scream.
Symphony did not so much relax as fall apart. She released the Unicorn from her and simply sunk into the bed. She felt like she was falling, likely due to the fact that the lower half of her body was on the verge of going numb. She closed her crystal blue eyes and just let her mind wander on its own, trying to piece together all the sensations it had just experienced. 
She did not know how long she lay there, her mind void of everything but the raw ecstasy surging through her, but she slowly became aware of the world again when she felt the bed tremble and a hoof slide under her neck. When a kiss touched her cheek, she opened her eyes.
Sea Swirl was lying on her side next to her. She had a glowing smile on her face, and her mane and fur were matted from a mix of sweat and other liquids that Symphony would rather not think about—even though she relished the sight, knowing that it was her fault. 
“You have one more in you?” The Unicorn asked. She reached over with her free hoof and brushed Symphony’s purple mane—likely a tangled mess now—off of her forehead. 
“Y…Yes…!” Symphony answered without thinking. She wanted more of whatever Sea Swirl had to give. She needed it! She needed Sea Swirl to push her over the limit, so that she knew where the limit was and thus knew where to stop before she crossed it.
Symphony moaned as Sea Swirl’s free hoof slipped down between her hind legs. The Unicorn began stroking her, the same way Symphony had done, but her motions were much more fluid. Her hoof glided along Symphony, and the mare doubted it was only because of friction reduction. Sea Swirl’s hoof seemed to know exactly where, when, and how long to press or touch to push Symphony right to the brink without tipping her over. It quickly became torture for her, but she didn’t care. 
“Are you ready?” She heard the Unicorn ask when her hoof came to a stop. All Symphony could manage was a whimper and a weak nod. “Hold on.”
Sea Swirl’s hoof started to move once more and Symphony found herself on the brink again. She shuddered and bit her lip, digging her front hooves into the covers on the bed. 
“Almost there…” Sea Swirl whispered.
Almost…there!
“You’re so wet, Symphony…”
“Uh-huh.”
“Do you want your Unicorn to make your wetter?”
Symphony nodded her head and gritted her teeth. 
“Dripping? Soaked?”
“S-S-S-Shut…just…finish…!”
“Sssh. I want to watch your face this time.”
With that, Sea Swirl’s hoof flicked and Symphony climaxed. Her body jerked and twitched with each movement and her face stretched across her muzzle as Sea Swirl finished her game with her. She stayed perfectly still, too exhausted to even open her eyes, and waited for whatever Sea Swirl had planned next. 
“Are you okay?”
Symphony opened her eyes and realized she had fallen asleep. It couldn’t have been for long, because her body was still tingling all over and her fur was still wet in many places, but she knew she had because Sea Swirl now had her forelegs wrapped around her and was resting her head on her shoulder. 
“What?” Symphony asked, her mind slowly coming to grips with what had just transpired. 
“Are you okay?” Sea Swirl asked again. She nuzzled Symphony’s neck and, to the Earth pony’s horror, she returned the gesture. “I mean…with all of this? You said yes, but…”
“I…” Symphony paused. Was she okay? She had just experienced something she had never dreamed of, nor wanted. She had only agreed to it to prove a point to herself, but had she proven it? Did this—Sea Swirl lying next to her, both of them exhausted, in covered in each other’s fluids—really mean nothing to her? That had been the plan, right? For Sea Swirl to sleep with her so thoroughly and completely that there would be nothing left in her bag of fillyfooler tricks, and when Symphony felt nothing for any of it, she would know she was straight. 
But, as Symphony turned and looked at the Unicorn next to her with the tossed and matted mane and the worried smile, she couldn’t help but wonder if her plan had worked. 
It was…this was…
A tear ran down Symphony’s cheek as she chose a word to describe what she had just been through. 
“Symphony?” Sea Swirl asked, sitting up a little. “I-I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have done this! I should have stopped you! I should have stopped myself! It’s just…I…I don’t know! Look, if you want, I’ll go sleep on the couch and in the morning, we can pretend this never happened, okay?”
“I am…fine,” Symphony whispered, pulling the retreating Unicorn in close again. 
Another tear ran down Symphony’s cheek as she realized she was telling the truth. She kissed the Unicorn—her Unicorn—on the forehead so the mare wouldn’t see it.
	
> A Dream Come True...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sea Swirl mumbled something unintelligible as she felt something stir against her chest. A moment later, a tickling sensation sprang up at the tip of her nose. She made a face, trying to make the feeling go away so she could go back to peaceful slumber, but it didn’t work. Without thinking, she started to pull her foreleg up to her muzzle—
And immediately stopped when she felt something clamp down on it. It wasn’t painful in any way, but the sensation was still enough to snap her awake with the sudden rush of the unexpected. 
As soon as Sea Swirl’s rose-shaded eyes opened, they were greeted by a mass of purple hair and a hint of yellow fur hiding beneath it. Her heart calmed down instantly as her brain finally woke up enough to process what was happening to her. 
Symphony was snuggled up against her, using the Unicorn’s foreleg as a makeshift pillow. While the mare had always slept with her back to Sea Swirl, after that night, Sea Swirl often woke up with Symphony facing her instead, occasionally even with her own forelegs gently wrapped around Sea Swirl.  In fact, in the four days since that night, Symphony often fell asleep in this position, burying her face in Sea Swirl’s chest before gently dozing off as Sea Swirl stroked the back of her neck. 
The two mares had only had sex that one night—Sea Swirl still got tingly just thinking about it—and the following morning had been nothing short of strained for both of them. Breakfast had been eaten in silence, and while Sea Swirl had attempted to make small talk, Symphony had refused to look her in the eye for most of the morning. For most of the day, Sea Swirl had worried that she had ruined her friendship with the mare, but when Symphony had said she was still spending the night at the Unicorn’s home, her fears had been relieved. 
The two had not spoken of that night since. For all intents and purposes, things were back to normal now. The only physical difference was that Symphony now snuggled back. There was no kissing, no touching beyond Sea Swirl brushing Symphony’s neck and mane as she fell asleep, no longing looks, and there was certainly no sex. Sea Swirl was too terrified to even ask if the music pony wanted to try it again, and Symphony had made no move to indicate that she was up for it. 
So…what are we? The thought had been ringing in Sea Swirl’s mind for four days now. She was extremely grateful that Symphony still wanted to be around her, still showed up for work—not that there was any, seeing as it was still Hearth’s Warming break—and still spent the night every night. But that was all she did. She made no effort to kiss Sea Swirl, showed no sign of affection when they were out in public, and she made no moves in the bed beyond burying her face in Sea Swirl’s lavender chest and holding her tight. 
Were they a couple now? Were they just friends who had lost themselves in one night of passion? Were they friends with benefits? 
Sea Swirl sighed as she ran over the possibilities. She knew she should have turned Symphony down that night. There was no doubt she was attracted to the mare, and the sex had been beyond amazing—it had been a while, after all—but it had opened a box of cats in the Unicorn’s mind, and they had been clawing at her brain ever since. 
“What is bothering you?” a voice asked.
“Huh?” Sea Swirl pulled her head back a little and looked down at the mass of body snuggled against her. A single crystal blue eye, with the small hint of green mixed in, was staring up at her through a tangled mess of purple mane. It blinked once, but did not break eye contact.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.”
The eye narrowed slightly. “That is not an answer to what I asked. Something is bothering you.”
“Er…” Sea Swirl tried to squirm away, but she was stunned when Symphony wrapped her forelegs around her, pinning her in the bed. “It’s nothing. Just…thinking.”
“Share,” Symphony whispered. The movement of her mouth on Sea Swirl’s chest made the Unicorn tense. Whether she had done it knowingly, Sea Swirl couldn’t tell. 
“Are you…happy? With this?”
“Are you not?” Symphony shot back. 
Sea Swirl bit her lower lip for a moment. “Well, um…I was just kind of wondering…I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like having you here, and I like having you sleep next to me, but are we…?” Sea Swirl managed to free one of her hooves and scratched the back of her neck as she finally managed to look away from the lone eye. “Sorry, kind of having trouble putting my thoughts in order.”
“You are my Unicorn.”
Sea Swirl blinked so hard that it hurt. “Huh?!”
“That is what you said, correct?” Sea Swirl’s mind was racing so fast that words were an impossibility. “That night, you said ‘your Unicorn’ twice. Is that true, or were you lying?” 
Sea Swirl swallowed the lump in her throat. She vaguely remembered uttering those words, but they had just been part of the mood, right? 
“Well, yeah, but…”
“So you are not my Unicorn?”
The question was devoid of emotion. There was no threat, no icy tone, no fear of rejection. It was a question, plain and simple, but to say it was a loaded question would be an understatement. 
“I…I’d like to be?” Sea Swirl offered sheepishly. 
“That was a question, not an answer,” Symphony countered. “Are you my Unicorn? Yes or no.”
Sea Swirl took a deep breath. “Yes. I mean, if you’re okay with it?”
“I find the idea of owning a Unicorn…appealing.”
Sea Swirl smiled. “And she’s a pretty good one, if I do say so myself.”
“Mm.”
So that's it then, right? I mean, we’re a couple now, right? That’s what that whole thing was about. Sea Swirl pushed the rabid thoughts away and instead went with a much easier question. 
“Breakfast?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” Sea Swirl carefully wiggled herself out of bed, a goofy smile slowly forcing itself onto her face as Symphony groaned in protest. Once she was free, the yellow mare flopped over and buried her face in Sea Swirl’s pillow, her tail swishing beneath the covers. “I’ll call you when it’s ready, so you can just stay here and rest.”
Symphony made a noise and Sea Swirl left the room. She walked down the hall, her hooves feeling lighter than usual, and stepped into her kitchen. She immediately started pulling out all sorts of things she’d need to make pancakes. As she did, she looked outside and smiled at the sight of Canterlot covered in a blanket of thick snow. Her life, for all intents and purposes, was now straight out of a fairy tale. She had a budding relationship with a beautiful girl who was half asleep in her bed at the moment, she was in the kitchen fixing them both a lovely hot breakfast, and they could sit on the couch together while they ate and watch the snow outside. 
Sea Swirl felt a swirl of joy that had been absent from her being since Yukari. Sure, the two ponies were still in the beginning stages, and maybe this wasn’t going to work out after all, but right now everything was perfect, so she was going to enjoy the moment to its fullest. 
Before long, the kitchen was filled with the comforting scent of baked goods. Sea Swirl dumped the pancakes onto a plate and then poured maple syrup over their tops. She made sure the sticky liquid flowed over each one before setting the bottle aside. She then pulled some berries out of the fridge, cut them up, and placed them in a small bowl. Finally, she poured two glasses of juice and set the pitcher on the counter. 
“Breakfast!” the Unicorn called as she levitated the entire meal into the living room. She used her magic to pull out a standing tray and then placed the dishes on top of it. She went back into the kitchen for the juice and some plates, and when she came back out, she couldn’t help but smile at the sight before her.
Symphony, her purple mane a slight messy, was lounging on the couch with a blanket from the bed wrapped around her. She looked back at Sea Swirl, her eyes half closed but looking warm, and then turned back to the food after a small smile. 
“Hope you’re hungry,” Sea Swirl said as she walked over and set the remaining dishes on the tray. 
“It smells delicious,” Symphony whispered. “Your cooking always does.”
“Eh heh, I’m really not that great,” Sea Swirl said as color flooded her face. She could cook for sure, but she hardly considered herself a world-class chef or something. But still, Symphony always seemed to enjoy her food, and that was more than enough for the Unicorn. 
Sea Swirl sat down next to Symphony on the couch, making sure to leave just enough space so that they weren’t touching—Symphony seemed to only show affection when they were in the bedroom, so Sea Swirl didn’t want to push it—and started to load up her plate with pancakes and berries. As soon as she was done though, Symphony whipped the blanket open and wrapped it around the Unicorn. She scooted just close enough so that their thighs were barely touching, and then started to fill her own plate without once looking over at Sea Swirl. 
The Unicorn froze for a moment as her body warmed, and it wasn’t just from the blanket. Her eyes darted to the mare sitting next to her, wrapped in the same blanket, but when it was clear that Symphony was not going to acknowledge what she had just done, Sea Swirl smiled and went back to filling her plate. 
The two ponies ate in silence, just like they always did, and when they finished, Sea Swirl started to rise to put the tray and dishes away, but Symphony stopped her by placing her hoof on the Unicorn’s chest. Startled, Sea Swirl leaned back into the couch once more, and a moment later she nearly jumped as Symphony leaned her head on her shoulder.
“I…do not think I am doing this correctly,” the Earth pony said as Sea Swirl tried to get her heartbeat under control.
“Er…” was all Sea Swirl could say. She didn’t understand why she was acting like a grade school filly because of a simple gesture. She had slept with Symphony just a few nights ago. They had explored each other’s bodies in the most intimate ways possible. And even before crossing that line, Sea Swirl had spent many nights just snuggling next to the yellow mare. Something as simple as this shouldn’t be tripping her up this much. 
Symphony adjusted her head a little and then sighed. “I do not understand this.”
“What?” Sea Swirl asked as the mare shifted closer to her, her soft yellow coat now tickling Sea Swirl’s body. 
“The shoulder is…hardly ideal for laying against. Am I doing it wrong?”
Sea Swirl had to stop herself for laughing. “You’re not supposed to lean on my shoulder, exactly. See? The bone digs right into your head.” Sea Swirl moved her shoulder a little to prove her point. 
“Then how did you and that…griffon do it?”
Sea Swirl could hear the tone shift in Symphony’s voice as she spoke and she couldn’t help but feel a small swelling of happiness. While she doubted Symphony would ever admit it, she could tell that the mare was jealous of Yukari. 
“Like this. Here, move your head a little…” Sea Swirl slowly lifted her foreleg as Symphony removed her head, then the Unicorn put her outstretched limb behind Symphony’s neck and pulled her in close. She guided Symphony’s head until it was nuzzled in the joint between Sea Swirl’s shoulder and chest. “Better?”
“Much,” Symphony replied as she rubbed her muzzle against Sea Swirl’s chest. They sat in silence for a few moments before Sea Swirl started to stroke the back of Symphony’s head and neck with her hoof. Symphony’s only response was a small sigh of contentment. 
The two mares sat on the couch for nearly half and hour, neither saying a word as they both stared out the front window and watched the snow. It hadn’t been snowing when they had first awoken, but now a small flurry was beginning to fall, slowly adding to the scenery. It was probably the weather ponies finishing off what they had from last night, and Sea Swirl was grateful for it. She could sit on her couch with Symphony like this for the whole day for all she cared. There was no work to do, there were no errands to run, it was too cold to go diving, but most importantly, she had company that made her feel—
Bang! Bang! Bang! 
Both ponies jumped at the noise. Sea Swirl hadn’t realized how close she was to falling asleep until the knocking, and judging by how badly Symphony had twitched, she was willing to bet the Earth pony had fallen asleep completely. 
The knocking on the front door sounded again, and this time a voice came with it. “Miss Sea Swirl? Are you in? It’s the Royal Guard.”
“Ugh…” Sea Swirl groaned. “Talk about horrible timing. Sorry, Symphony.”
“It is fine,” the mare responded as Sea Swirl untangled herself from the blanket they were sharing and stood up. 
“One sec,” Sea Swirl called as she rubbed her eyes and made her way to the door. She opened it just enough that she could stick her head out. “Can I help you, sirs?”
Two stallions in winter uniforms—Princess Celestia didn’t want them wearing their armor right now because metal was hardly conductive to keeping them warm—stood on her doorstep. They both nodded in unison, and then one of them took a small step forward.
“Pardon the intrusion, Miss,” he said as he took off his wool cap and placed it on his chest. “But…Princes Celestia has asked that you come to the castle.”
Sea Swirl made a face. What in Equestria could Celestia want with her on such a peaceful—not to mention cold—day? “Now?”
The stallion nodded and then looked back at his comrade. “She said it was urgent. Something about…helping her decide on the entertainment for the New Year’s Party? She said you would know what that means.”
Sea Swirl’s eyes went wide and a chill that had nothing to do with the freezing air rushed over her. She quickly looked back inside to where Symphony—who had ducked down behind the couch—was still sitting as she remembered her conversation with the Princess several days ago. 
Horse apples! I completely forgot! Sea Swirl had been so happy, delusional, and downright exhausted from her and Symphony’s first time together that she had completely spaced the fact that she had promised to find out if Symphony still liked playing. Worse, she had told Celestia that she would let her know the day after Hearth’s Warming, and that had been three days ago! The New Year’s Party was in two days! 
“Right!” the Unicorn said as panic threatened to overwhelm her. Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe she could somehow still convince the Princess to let Symphony play. Assuming, of course, she hadn’t grown tired of waiting for Sea Swirl and gone with Vinyl or Octavia instead. “Tell her I’ll be there in twenty minutes! Just need to get dressed!”
“Of course, Miss Sea Swirl,” the stallion said as he put his cap back on. “Have a pleasant day.” 
Sea Swirl closed the door as soon as the stallion finished speaking. “Sorry, Symphony,” she said as she rushed down the hall and into her bedroom. She pulled out her boots, stuffed her hooves into them, and then threw a scarf and earmuffs on before dashing back into the living room. “I, uh…have to step out for a bit.”
“Where to?” the mare asked as she watched the Unicorn race around the house. 
“Um…special order that I kind of forgot about. Just need to drop it off. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or two. Key’s on the hook if you want head out while I’m gone.”
Sea Swirl closed the door without waiting for Symphony’s reply and began dashing through the snow as fast as she could manage. 
Please be in time! she thought as the cold air bit into her body and chewed on her eyes. 

*                                                  *                                                  *

Symphony sat on Sea Swirl’s couch, her mind still keenly aware of the Unicorn’s lingering warmth, and stared out the window at the falling snow. Whatever business had come to the door had clearly shaken Sea Swirl, but Symphony found that she didn’t care.
It wasn’t that she didn’t care about Sea Swirl. As much as she hated to admit it, ever since that night, the Unicorn had been at the forefront of her mind more than she liked. No, she didn’t care because Sea Swirl had done nothing that caused her to worry. Yes, the mare had dashed out in a frenzy, but she had said she would be back in an hour or so and that it was nothing more than a late delivery. 
Her haste and panic seemed odd at first, until Symphony reminded herself of Sea Swirl’s cliental. The Unicorn worked in Canterlot, and her services were in high demand. With the New Year’s Party coming up in two days, the whole event was probably caused because some important pony was wondering when their order from the jeweler would arrive, and Sea Swirl was on her way to fix it. 
And so, Symphony sat on Sea Swirl’s couch, wrapped in Sea Swirl’s blanket, eating Sea Swirl’s food, and wondering what had happened to her life. She wasn’t a fillyfooler. She wasn’t attracted to mares. She didn’t get a quivering in hindquarters or feel her heart skip a beat whenever a mare walked by her.  She was just…comfortable around Sea Swirl. She liked the mare’s company. She like the way the mare made her feel. She liked that the mare treated her like a pony of equal status.
And she liked what Sea Swirl could do with her tongue. 
Symphony blushed and squeezed her thighs together as memories of that night flooded her mind. She wanted to have sex again. She wanted to feel Sea Swirl pressing against her, feel the rush of her fluids surging out of her body again, but she was terrified of asking for it. What if Sea Swirl said no? What if Symphony had been so bad that the mere idea of the two of them having sex again repulsed Sea Swirl? After all, the Unicorn had made no move to indicate that she wanted a repeat of that night. The most she did was hold Symphony every night and stroke her neck as she fell asleep. 
“Why am I thinking about this?” Symphomy mumbled and she pulled the blanket closer. She wasn’t a fillyfooler. If a stallion came along and offered everything that Sea Swirl was giving, Symphony would jump to him without a second thought. But until that happened, she would stay with the Unicorn and the warm feelings she stirred.
Symphony nibbled on a few more sliced berries and then decided to get up. She had not been back to her own apartment for a few days, and she hadn’t spent the night there for even longer. Seeing as Hearth’s Warming Eve had come and gone, she decided that she should probably head home to at least check up on the place. 
The mare walked to Sea Swirl’s bedroom and into her closet. She took her purple bowtie off the hook on the wall, put it around her neck, and then looked around for a scarf. Sea Swirl had told her that she was welcome to wear any she wanted, so she settled on nice white one with purple trim, the same shade as her mane. She tied it fashionably around her neck, a faint hint of the Unicorn’s—her Unicorn, she reminded herself with a smile—scent tickling her nose as she did. 
With the scarf firmly in place, Symphony looked down on the floor at the four boots sitting in the corner. Sea Swirl had offered to buy her a set once the snow had really started, but Symphony had refused her. She wasn’t a charity case, and she had used the pay she earned from Sea Swirl to buy her own boots. They were nothing fancy, being made of simple brown fabric with white wool lining the inside, but they did their job well enough, and Symphony was proud of the fact that she had bought them. 
Symphony walked back into the living room, put on the winter hat the Sea Swirl had insisted on buying her, slung her saddlebag over her backside, and pulled the key off the hook by the door. She went outside, shivering as the cold air sank into her body, and locked the door behind her. She slipped the key into her bag and began to make her way through the snow. 
Canterlot was deathly quiet for its standing. The streets were far from deserted, with ponies bundled up against the cold, but considering how busy the city usually was, it was extremely silent as the snowfall continued from the dark clouds overhead. 
Symphony found the quietness relaxing, and focused on the sound of snow crunching beneath her booted hooves. She allowed her mind to drift as she walked, until her thoughts were so lost that she found herself walking in a daze. She thought about Sea Swirl, about her duel-colored mane, about the feeling of her horn in her mouth, about the way her tail swished when she walked, and about the two dolphins that made up her cutie mark. 
Symphony scowled and pushed all thoughts of the Unicorn—I need to stop thinking of her as mine!—out of her mind. She was already walking a dangerously fine line with Sea Swirl, and dwelling on her physical appearance was not going to help anything. Instead, she focused solely on making it to her apartment. She picked up her pace until she was practically stomping through the snow. 
Ten minutes later, Symphony found herself standing outside of a building complex that felt like it was from another life. While her apartment was still technically her home, she rarely stayed there nowadays. She couldn’t remember the last time she had spent the night in her own bed, and as she approached the door to her dwelling, the steps felt familiar and strange at the same time. 
Symphony pulled her key out and unlocked the door. She was surprised that it didn’t squeak as she pushed it open. She was about to look behind it to glance at the hinges, but she paused when she saw a single piece of paper on the floor. She bent down and picked it up. 
The note was a message from Complex, her landlord. All it said was for her to stop by the office when she got the chance. For a moment, panic burned in her heart, but then she calmed herself. She had been keeping up with her rent payments, and had even managed to pay her back rent off, ever since she had started working for Sea Swirl. So the idea that Complex wanted to throw her out was unlikely. 
And even if he does, Sea Swirl will—
Symphony shoved the thought from her mind. She wasn’t a charity case, and she certainly wasn’t about to move in with her—The!—Unicorn. So what if she already spent nearly all her free time there, and ate her food, and slept in her bed? She wasn’t living there. Her clothes weren’t taking up space in Sea Swirl’s—
Symphony looked down at the boots on her hooves and swore under her breath. 
“Symphony?” a familiar voice asked from behind the Earth pony. 
Symphony took a deep breath, calming her nerves, and turned around to face the pony behind her. “Yes, Complex? And before you complain about my rent, I have paid back every bit I owe, and am current on my payments.”
Complex blinked his purple eyes and cocked his head for a moment. “What…? No, I know that.” 
“Then what is this about?” Symphony asked, holding the note out. 
Complex looked down at it and then up at Symphony. “You’re just getting that now? Sheesh, no wonder I never heard back from you. I just wanted to ask you if it’d be okay to do some repairs on your apartment.”
Symphony blinked. “Repairs? Why, has something happened while I was—” Symphony was about to say ‘staying at Sea Swirl’s’, but she caught herself “—away?”
“You have been gone for a while,” Complex said. “Where have you been?”
“That is a private matter,” Symphony said coldly. 
Complex blinked and nodded. “Fair enough. May I come in? It’s rather chilly out here, and I’ll show you what I mean. Or, well, what I did.”
“Did?” Symphony asked as she stepped into her apartment and allowed Complex to follow her. 
“Yeah, sorry. Got tired of waiting for you to answer that note. And I figured you wouldn’t mind. I’m sure you noticed the door doesn’t creak anymore? Fixed that. Also, replaced that windowpane in the bedroom, so the crack is gone. Got the leak in the sink fixed too. It’s going to take a bit longer to paint the walls and redo the ceiling, which I didn’t want to do without your permission.”
Symphony’s mouth fell open as she processed what her landlord was telling her. He had fixed all of those things? “How…much is that going to cost me?”
“What are you talking about?” Complex asked as he stood in the middle of the Earth pony’s living rom. “Symphony, I wouldn’t dream of charging you for repairs to my building. In fact, I’ve taken a few hundred bits off this month’s rent because of it! Why didn’t you tell me your place was in such poor shape? I mean, a sheet for curtains? I know I’m not running a five-star resort here, but this is still Canterlot and I still have my pride. I like to keep this place comfortable, even if it’s not the best.”
“S-Sorry…” was all Symphony could say as she hung her head. Had she misjudged Complex this whole time? The landlord pony was certainly a tough character, but the more Symphony thought about it, the only time he ever came after her was when she was late with her rent. And even then, he had been generous enough to give her extension after extension. 
“Water under the bridge now,” Complex said with a wave of his hoof. “So, can I schedule the workers to come in sometime soon? It won’t be until after the New Year, since everypony is busy with celebrations, but I want to get this done soon, and I wanted to make sure you’re okay with it.”
“Yes,” Symphony said.
“Great! You have a place to stay, right? It should only be for a few days.”
Symphony’s mind immediately jumped to Sea Swirl and her warm bed and comfortable home. “Yes, I have a…friend whom I can stay with.”
“Got it,” Complex said. “I’ll hammer out the details later. Anyway, that was all I wanted to talk to you about. Did you have a nice Hearth’s Warming Eve?”
The memory of Sea Swirl’s tongue and her hooves rushed into Symphony’s mind. “Y-Yes…”
“Well, I hope you have a nice New Year’s too,” Complex added as he opened the door, allowing the winter air to come rushing in once again. “Oh, you might want to check your mail too. Some important looking pony stopped by two days ago and dropped a letter off for you.” 
Symphony watched the stallion go and then closed her door. Checking her mail was a good idea, but first she wanted to check her apartment. The first thing she did was check the sink in her small kitchen. Sure enough, the constant leak was gone, and Complex had even gone so far as to have the sink cleaned. While there was still a hint of a water ring around the base of the faucet, it had clearly been cleaned up.
Next, the mare walked down her short hallway and into her room. The place was still the same as she left it, save for the fact that the blanket she usually used as a curtain was now folded up on her bed. On the wall, in place of where the blanket had been, was a brand new curtain. It was nothing fancy, simply some off-white blinds, but it was far beyond what the Earth pony had been using before. 
Still, as Symphony stared at the new display, she could not help but draw comparisons between her place and Sea Swirl’s. The Unicorn’s hallway was bigger than Symphony’s bedroom. Her bed was large enough to for two ponies to sleep in with ease, while Symphony’s was barely big enough to hold her if she didn’t toss and turn. Their blankets and covers were made of entirely different material, and the presence given off in Sea Swirl’s bedroom was one of warmth and comfort, something Symphony had never felt at her own place. 
Symphony stood in her bedroom and stared into nothingness as her mind lost itself. How could she ever go back to living in this place after she had seen what a real Canterlot mare lived like? She simply could not do it. Sea Swirl and her generous nature had spoiled Symphony to the point where she needed to have plush pillows for her head, soft blankets for her body, and Sea Swirl’s hooves wrapped around—
“No I do not!” Symphony protested before that final thought could materialize. The comforts of wealth were what she was addicted to now, not her Unicorn’s…pleasantries. 
Symphony blinked once and left her room. In three steps, she was once again in her living room, which barely held a small loveseat, and had no hopes of holding a couch as grand as the one in Sea Swirl’s home. She thought about sitting down on it, but decided not to because she knew she would be getting up again in a few moments. 
Instead, realizing her boots were still on—and that she had tracked water in because of it—the mare decided to go check her mail. She was curious about this letter that Complex had mentioned. She rarely received mail, and when she did, it was usually a bill or some other annoying article. 
The music pony once again walked out into the snow, making her way through the soft white powder until she came to the apartment’s mailboxes. She found hers, unlocked it, and looked inside. Sure enough, an envelope was sitting in her mailbox, and it was unlike any of the mail that she usually found waiting for her. 
The first thing she noticed was that the envelope wasn’t the typical shade of white. It was a sort of cream color, and the seal on it was dark purple instead of the usual red. As she reached in and pulled it out with her hoof, she noticed that it was also larger and thicker than a normal letter. Curious, she examined the wax crest on it. 
Symphony’s eyes narrowed instantly and, despite the cold air, her entire body burned. She wanted to drop the envelope in the snow and bury it, letting the weather ruin it beyond recognition. The sight of her family’s crest, several musical notes woven together, brought back all the burning insults she had suffered when Sea Swirl had accidently dragged her back to her parents’ home.
The only thing that stopped her was her curiosity as to what was in the envelope. No doubt it was some long-winded letter about how much better her life was now that she was a workhorse for Sea Swirl, but as Symphony placed the letter in her mouth to carry it back to her apartment, she noticed that it didn’t feel like a single package. It seemed like there was something else inside the envelope. 
Still fuming at the very idea that her parents had contacted her—and curious as to how they even found her address—Symphony stomped back to her apartment, the envelope in her mouth. Once she was back in her room, she tore the envelope open and tossed it on the floor as she pulled out the letter. 
The first thing she noticed was that she had been correct. The envelope contained more than just a letter from her parents. Another envelope fell to the floor as she unfolded the letter from her parents. She paid it no mind, believing it to be another scolding or something similar from her mother and father. 
Instead, she scanned the letter, immediately recognizing her mother’s astute writing style. It took her less than twenty seconds to read the thing, and she came to the conclusion that it was fifteen seconds too long. Her mother had a long, insufferable way of wording, ‘This letter was sent to you and we forwarded it’ in a way that it took up nearly an entire piece of parchment. 
Narrowing her eyes and debating whether it was worth the effort to crumple the letter up and toss it in the waste disposable, Symphony set the letter aside and bent down to pick up the other envelope. She noted that it was not the same style as the one her parents had used. In fact, it was even fancier. It was pure white to the point of being blinding, and the edges seemed to have a floral designed indented right into the paper, as if it was some sort of watermark. Her name was scrawled on the front in a style that rivaled even the best ponies in Canterlot, along with her parents’ address underneath it. 
Even more curious now—why would somepony of apparent importance send her a letter?—Symphony slowly turned the envelope over in her hooves and looked at the crest on the back. Her mouth fell open as she recognized it as the official royal castle crest. Somepony from the castle had sent her a letter? 
Numb from shock, Symphony opened the envelope and pulled the letter out, her hooves shaking as she did. She didn’t look at the words on the paper, but instead tried to look through the letter itself. She was too terrified to do anything else, and for a full minute, she just stood in her living room, the letter resting on her shaking hoof and her eyes trying to burn holes through it without reading it. 
Finally, the mare regained enough self-control that she was able to force her eyes to focus. They carefully scanned each wavy, flowing quill stroke that made up a letter. She then looked at each letter’s placement until they formed a word that she understood. She strung the words together on the paper so that they formed sentences, and she slowly read the letter in her mind.
Once she finished, she read the letter again. 
When she finished the second time, she read the letter a third time.
And a fourth.
And then a fifth. 
On the sixth attempt, Symphony’s mind faded from reality. The letter fell from her hoof and settled quietly on the floor next to her parents’ letter. For a long time, she stood perfectly still, staring at nothing as her mind shut down. It wasn’t until water began to swell in her blue-green eyes that even a semblance of activity returned to her body. It wasn’t until the first tear slowly rolled down her yellow coat, tracing her cheek and then sneaking down her neck until it caught on her scarf, that her body began to move once more, although it was nothing more than her lips quivering. Her sniffling was the first sound she heard after what felt like a lifetime of silence, and it was only then that she reached up and rubbed her eyes with her hoof.
And then the tears flowed. Her eyes felt as though they were about burst from their sockets as the pressure pressed against them. She felt her nose begin to run, and a small part of her thought of how unseemly she must look now, but she didn’t care. No longer able to stand, she collapsed on the floor and rested her chin on her forelegs. She stayed there for a long time, sniffling as tears streaked her face. She cried and gasped for breath until she was completely exhausted, and then she just stayed there, her heart pounding nearly as hard as it had the night Sea Swirl had given her such a wonderful experience. 
Sea Swirl! Symphony rubbed her face and eyes and forced herself to stand. I have to tell her! She will be able to help! She’s…my Unicorn, after all. 
Symphony flung open the door to her apartment and dashed outside. She was nearly out of the complex before she spun around and dashed back to her home. She stuffed the letter into her saddlebag and then tore out into the cold winter air once again. It bit into her tear-stained eyes, but she didn’t care. She needed to get back to Sea Swirl’s place as fast as possible. 
She needed her Unicorn’s help. 


*                                                  *                                                  *


Sea Swirl did her best to sit quietly and pay attention to the light show happening on the stage in front of her. She figured other ponies in her position would be nervous to the point of convulsions. Princess Celestia was sitting on her left, and Princess Luna was sitting on her right. They were the only three ponies in the audience, sitting in the front row and watching a pony Sea Swirl recognized all too well perform tricks on the stage before them. 
Sea Swirl had been told that the event was a tryout for the entertainment at the New Year’s Party coming up. Somehow, she got the feeling that this was more of a rehearsal, and that the pony currently launching fireworks—indoor safe ones, of course—was just going over her routine before the big night. 
And so, while other ponies would no doubt be freaking out to be with the two Royal Sisters in a private showing in their grand theater where the party was going to be held, Sea Swirl was surprisingly calm. True, the Sisters were the most important ponies in the land, but she was close friends with one of them, and while she didn’t know Princess Luna nearly as well, she was still comfortable enough around her to not lose her composure.
No, Sea Swirl was nervous for an entirely different reason. She had rushed to the castle as fast as she could in the snow, and once she had arrived, she had bolted straight for the throne room. The guards had apparently been made aware of her coming, because they had simply opened the doors and allowed the snow-covered pony to dash right inside.
Princess Celestia had been waiting for her, sitting patiently on her throne. Sea Swirl had offered an informal bow as she had approached, but before she had even raised her head, the Princess had jumped off her thrown, landed in front of Sea Swirl, and told her to hurry along. 
They had arrived at the theater chamber to find Princess Luna waiting for them. Sea Swirl had attempted to ask what was going on, but Celestia had hushed her and told her to hold all of her questions until the end. 
A final firework went off, flooding the darkened room with a flash of light, and then the pony on stage bowed, taking off her purple wizard hat as she did. Princess Luna began clapping her hooves together in excitement, and Celestia soon joined her. Sea Swirl looked at both of them and then slowly began to clap her own hooves. 
“Trixie thanks her royal audience,” the showmare said, her voice filled with its normal bravado as she raised her head and placed her hat back over her white mane. “Trixie hopes she preformed to expectations.”
“Well, Trixie,” Celestia said as she turned to her sister, completely ignoring Sea Swirl yet again. “That is what we are here to discuss.”
“Indeed,” Princess Luna chimed in. “Come forth.”
Sea Swirl saw Trixie swallow the lump in her throat as she walked to the edge of the stage and hop down. She now stood directly in front of her three audience members, and Sea Swirl could see that, even though her chest was puffed out and her face was beaming, she was trembling. 
“Trixie, do you know who this is?” Celestia asked, gesturing to Sea Swirl. The pony’s blue eyes shot to Sea Swirl for a moment, uncertainty blazing in them, before returning to the older sister. 
“Trixie…does not believe she has had the pleasure.” 
“This is Sea Swirl, Trixie,” Princess Celestia said. “She is a friend of mine. She’s a jeweler of sorts, and her work is in high demand here in Canterlot.”
Trixie once again looked at Sea Swirl, and Sea Swirl felt she saw her own confusion reflected in the blue Unicorn’s face. “Trixie is pleased to—”
“She is also a resident of Ponyville,” Princess Luna added.
Trixie came up short. Her mouth fell open as her blue eyes went wide. Her gaze darted like a trapped animal’s, and Sea Swirl couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the poor mare. Trixie’s history in Ponyville was hardly a secret, and Sea Swirl had witnessed it herself both times. While the mare had done her best to make amends for her actions, it was pretty clear that not only had not everypony forgiven her, but that she was still feeling rather terrible about her actions as well. 
Trixie finally seemed to regain some amount of her composure as she locked eyes with Sea Swirl. “Trixie…is not sure what to say, Sea Swirl. She feels bad for her deeds, but she understands if her apologies are not accepted.” 
“Well, Sea Swirl?” Princess Luna asked. 
“What do you think?” her sister added. 
“Uh…” Sea Swirl looked first at Princess Luna, then at Princess Celestia, and finally at the blue Unicorn standing before her who was struggling to keep her head up. “I…never really hated you, Trixie. I mean, you were kind of a jerk, taking over our town like that, but Twilight said it wasn’t really your fault, so…”
Trixie’s lips quivered for a moment and then she bowed her head, the brim of her purple hat covering her face. Sea Swirl wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard the Unicorn sniffle a few times before she looked up once more. 
“That’s great, Sea Swirl,” Princess Celestia said, “but that’s not what we were asking about.”
“Huh?” both Unicorns said in unison. 
“Indeed not,” Princess Luna added. 
“Then why was Trixie—?”
“Then why did you want me—?”
Both Unicorns asked their questions at the same time, and then stopped when they realized they were talking over each other. 
“We wanted to know what you thought of her performance,” Princess Luna said. 
“Do you think her show would be acceptable entertainment for the New Year’s Party?” Princess Celestia asked with a smile. 
Sea Swirl slow blinked so hard she worried she might pull a muscle as she stared at the two Princesses. Were they messing with her on purpose? She knew Celestia had a bit of a mischievous side, but this was the first time she’d ever received it from Princess Luna as well. 
Sea Swirl’s eyes eventually turned to Trixie and her heart swelled with pity. The Unicorn had already given up on herself. She was still standing on the stage, but her stance had changed. Her chest was no longer puffed out, her head was titled down just a bit more than usual, and while her eyes were hardly swelling with tears, they were refusing to look at Sea Swirl. The smile on her face was so forced that it actually caused Sea Swirl’s cheeks to burn a little. 
Which made it even harder for Sea Swirl to say what she had to say. 
“Um…are you sure you want Trixie?” she said, and then quickly added, “No, I don’t mean it like that, Trixie! Honest. I like your silly little magic shows.”
“Silly?” Trixie said, a fire igniting in her eyes.
“No!” Sea Swirl said again. “I don’t mean it in a bad way. But…come on, you have to know your shows a bit over the top in some ways. And I like that. You go so big that it…adds a level of entertainment that other shows lack.”
Trixie made a face, her eyes shifting between Sea Swirl, the floor, and Princess Luna for some reason. Finally, she glared at Sea Swirl one last time and said, “Trixie will choose to accept that as a compliment.” 
“That is very kind of you, Trixie,” Princess Luna said, and Sea Swirl got the feeling that there was something she was missing as the showmare blushed a little and raised her head higher for a moment. 
“Anyway,” Sea Swirl continued, “what I meant was that Trixie’s show and her talents aren’t very…Canterlot? Ponyville, maybe Manehattan, and especially Las Pegasus, her show fits right in. But…” Sea Swirl looked at Princess Celestia and sighed. “You know what ponies in Canterlot are like, Your Highness.”
To Sea Swirl’s surprise, the Sun Princess smiled and clapped her front hooves together. “Excellent!” she said as she turned to her sister. “You heard her, Luna. Trixie is perfect!”
“Huh?” Sea Swirl said as she turned to look at the other Alicorn sitting next to her. 
“My sister has an…interesting character flaw, as I’m sure you’ve no doubt noticed, Miss Sea Swirl,” Princess Luna said as she rolled her eyes. 
“Says the Princess who once used our subjects to play a live game of chess,” Celestia countered and color instantly flooded Princess Luna’s dark blue face. 
“A-Anyway,” the younger sister said as she cleared her throat. “It appears thou has been accepted, Trixie Lulamoon. If thou would follow us, we shall make sure thou has everything needed for a grand performance. We thank thee for thy assistance, Miss Sea Swirl.”
“No problem,” Sea Swirl said as she returned Princess Luna’s bow. She watched as the Princess and the magician leave the room before turning back to Celestia. “So Princess Luna still talks like that?”
Celestia rolled soft purple eyes. “Only when she thinks she has to act all official. To tell you the truth, between the two of us, she’s the more mischievous.”
Sea Swirl looked at the door Princess Luna had left through and found Celestia’s comment hard to believe. While the Princess of the Night had loosened up considerably since her return, Sea Swirl still felt like Princess Luna could give Symphony a run for her bits in terms of stoic—
“Symphony!” Sea Swirl sat up straight on her chair and whipped her head back to Celestia. 
“It is a lovely form of music, yes,” the Alicorn said. “Why do you bring it up?” The Princess stood up and started to make her way toward the exit, following Trixie and Princess Luna’s path. 
“Uh, well…” Sea Swirl stumbled for words as she followed Celestia. She had promised she’d contact Princess Celestia immediately once she found out if Symphony was skilled enough to play, but things had happened that night. Things that had pushed Sea Swirl’s promise out of her mind. So how was she supposed to bring it up with the Princess now, especially on such short notice?
“You will be attending the New Year’s Party as well, I hope?” Princess Celestia said as the two ponies entered the hallway. “I always enjoy your company at these events.” 
“Um…yeah, sure,” Sea Swirl said. “But listen, I really need to talk to you about Symphony.”
Celestia stopped and put her hoof to her chin. “Yes, you keep referring to a symphony. May I ask why? It never struck me as your style of music, if I am honest.”
“That’s not what—”
“Although,” Celestia continued as she once against started walking, heading toward the throne room “I do admit that I enjoy it. There’s nothing quite like listening to a gathering of ponies, all playing in perfect harmony, their music echoing through the room and trembling in your very bones. Perhaps I should—”
“Celestia!” Sea Swirl jumped in front of the Princess and planted her four hooves squarely on the stone floor of the hallway. 
The two guards who were standing at the far end both jumped in surprise, but Celestia waved them off as she glanced down at the Unicorn blocking her path. “Oh dear,” she said. “Is something troubling you, Sea Swirl?”
“Yes! I need to—” Sea Swirl glared at the Princess, but then she saw the smug grin on the white Alicorn’s face and her frustration vanished, only to be replaced with annoyance. “…You know perfectly what I mean, don’t you.”
“Hm…” Celestia tapped her hoof against her chin, but the look in her eyes made it clear that Sea Swirl’s statement was on the mark. “You would not happen to be talking about that lovely Earth pony musician that you have been following around like a puppy, would you? The one you refused to speak about in detail when I visited your shop? The one which has been spending the night at your home, and whom you insist nothing special is happing with?” Celestia gasped and her grin turned into a full malicious smile. “Do you mean to tell me that something special has happened?”
“Uh…that’s not really important…” Sea Swirl stammered as her eyes fell to the floor.
“Oh my. I thought you had a little extra bounce in your steps.” Celestia leaned in close so that her pastel shaded mane threatened to swallow Sea Swirl’s entire body. “Was it nice?”
Sea Swirl curled her lower lip and sunk her teeth into it as her ears slammed against the sides of her head. Memories of Symphony’s hoof stroking her flashed in her mind and she found it hard to stand. Her fur bristled as her tail swished violently and her face felt like hot water had just been poured on it. 
“That good, hm?” Celestia asked. “Well, I’m glad for you, Sea Swirl. It’s nice to see you smile that way again.” She pulled away, freeing Sea Swirl from her flowing mane. “Now, if you don’t mind, I must get back to work. There is much I need discuss and plan for the upcoming party. Do give my regards to Symphony.”
“Music!” Sea Swirl stammered, forcing her body to relax enough for words to form. “What about the music for the party?”
“Oh, we have—” The Princess stopped and quickly looked back at Sea Swirl, this time her face showing genuine shock. “Oh. Oh no. That is what you meant?”
“I’m so sorry I forgot to get in contact with you!” Sea Swirl said, the look on the Princess’ face causing panic to rise in her heart. “But believe me! She’s really good!”
Celestia hung her head for a moment, and when she looked up at Sea Swirl again, the Unicorn’s hopes dimmed even further. “I’m sorry, Sea Swirl, but I’m afraid I cannot grant what you want to ask of me.” 
Sea Swirl felt her ears droop as she tried to hold back tears. “But…Celestia, she’s amazing! I know I’m not the biggest music freak, but I’ve never heard something so incredible. It was like…I don’t even know how to describe it. Please! You have to let her play! She’s perfect for Canterlot’s ponies!”
“I am sorry, Sea Swirl,” Celestia said, putting her hoof on Sea Swirl’s trembling shoulder. “Truly, I am. But after I did not hear from you, I had no choice. I had to find somepony to play for the party.”
“But…Symphony…” Sea Swirl whimpered, her head falling. 
“I waited as long as I could,” the Princess said. “But cheer up. Now that I know, thanks to your recommendation, I will be sure to ask her for the next Canterlot event we have.” Celestia leaned in close once again, her mane tickling Sea Swirl’s neck. “Plus, now you can bring her to the party, if you wish. Or…you two can spend the New Year together…alone.” 
“Yeah…” Sea Swirl said, but her heart wasn’t in it. “Thanks.” With that, Sea Swirl turned and made her way toward the castle’s exit. She gathered her clothing at the entrance and then walked out into the freezing air. She barely noticed it as she trudged through the snow.
The Unicorn’s entire body felt numb, and it had nothing to do with the cold. She had messed up pretty bad this time. She knew about Symphony’s dream and she had the perfect opportunity to make it come true. She had a direct line to the most important pony in Canterlot, and she had seen firsthoof that Symphony was more than worthy to play.
And yet, she had blown it. She’d been so caught up in what Symphony and her were now, and how happy having the Earth pony next to her each night made her, that she had completely forgotten to think about Symphony. She had been so focused on her own bliss that she had failed to consider Symphony like she should have. 
The only bright side that Sea Swirl could see was that she had never mentioned any of this to Symphony, so she wouldn’t have to tell the mare the disappointing news. But that didn’t ease the pain of her failure by much. 
Sea Swirl didn’t realize she had reached her home until she found herself standing outside of it. She peeked inside and saw that her lamps were on, and she was pretty sure she could make out the shape of a pony sitting on her couch. So Symphony was still here then. 
Sea Swirl hoped she had enough courage to face the mare as she opened the front door. She stepped inside and quickly closed the door, turning to face the wall as she hung up her scarf and shrugged off her boots. It wasn’t until she pulled her earmuffs off and hung them on the hook by the door that she turned around to face the mare. 
“Symphony, I—”
“Silence!” Symphony said, stunning Sea Swirl. The mare hadn’t used that tone of voice with her—seriously, anyway—for a while now. “I…need to speak with you.”
“Um…okay,” Sea Swirl said. She was too terrified to move, but when she saw Symphony move over on the couch enough to make room for her, Sea Swirl found her legs moving on their own. She carefully sat down next to the beautiful mare and waited.
“I…” Symphony trailed off and Sea Swirl looked at her.
“Symphony, have you been crying?” the Unicorn asked when she saw the mare’s red-rimmed eyes. “Is everything okay?”
“I…need your help.”
“Anything,” Sea Swirl said in a heartbeat. 
“I…need to buy a dress.”
“What?” Sea Swirl spoke before she had a chance to process the odd statement. The tear-stained eyes in the shaking face looking back at her had prepared Sea Swirl for something tragic. Something like Symphony leaving her,  and that that one night had been a mistake, and that Sea Swirl was going to go back to being alone again. 
Hearing the music mare ask for a dress had been akin to kicking a brick through a glass window in the royal palace. 
“I said I need a dress!” Symphony snapped. Her eyes went wide for a moment before they looked away, afraid to meet Sea Swirl’s gaze. 
Sea Swirl stared at the mare for a long moment, trying to figure out what she should do. Eventually, she took a risk and scooted closer. To her small delight, Symphony didn’t back away. She didn’t acknowledge Sea Swirl’s movement in any way either, but Sea Swirl decided to take her victories where she could. 
“Okay, so…do you want to borrow one of mine?” Sea Swirl asked. She still wasn’t quite sure what Symphony was so upset about, so she had to be careful with her words. “I’m sure I have some that will look great on you.”
“No!” Symphony said quickly. “I…” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I need to get a new one. And…”
“And…?” Sea Swirl prompted after Symphony remained silent for several seconds. 
“I…I am short on bits, and I promise I will pay you back with the money I earn from this, and I—” 
Sea Swirl leaned in and kissed Symphony, silencing the pony’s rambling instantly. To her joy, Symphony didn’t recoil. She jumped a little, but Sea Swirl decided that was more from surprise than disgust. 
Still, the Unicorn pulled away quickly before she wore out her welcome. 
“Of course,” she said, and then a grin came to her face.
“Thank you,” Symphony said, the red in her cheeks mixing beautifully with her yellow coat.  “I—”
“But!” Sea Swirl said quickly, tapping Symphony’s mouth with her hoof. “I have a condition.”
Symphony’s beautiful eyes narrowed a bit, but the mare nodded. 
“I get to pick out the dress.”
Symphony removed Sea Swirl’s hoof and glared at the mare. For a second, Sea Swirl was afraid she had crossed a line with that demand, but the rare sight of Symphony’s smile told her otherwise. 
“I was counting on my Unicorn to do just that,” the yellow mare said. She leaned in close, pressing her forehead to Sea Swirl’s. The move was very forward for Symphony and it caught the Unicorn by surprise. She leaned back and Symphony followed until Sea Swirl was in danger of tipping over backward. “My Unicorn finds me…attractive, correct?”
Sea Swirl nodded as she tried not to get lost in the two crystal blue-green spheres bearing down on her. 
“Then it would only make sense to trust her judgment in what I would look best in.” Symphony gave Sea Swirl’s chest a little tap with her hoof and the Unicorn fell on her back. For a second, Sea Swirl’s mind race with excitement, hoping that Symphony was about to take her right there on the couch, but her hopes were dashed when Symphony didn’t follow her down. 
“That was for the kiss,” the mare said instead as she returned to her sitting position on the couch. 
“Tease,” Sea Swirl said as she sat back up. She nuzzled Symphony’s shoulder, and tried not to giggle when she felt Symphony rest her head on top of Sea Swirl’s. “You know, you don’t have to pay me back for the dress. I can pay—”
“No,” Symphony said with an edge in her voice. “I will pay you back.” 
“Right,” Sea Swirl said quickly. Even after all these months of knowing the Earth pony, she found that she was still tripping over her personality. She had to remind herself that Symphony saw nearly all acts of kindness as something coated in poison. She was bent on the belief that no pony in Canterlot helped another unless they stood to gain from it. Sea Swirl was fairly certain she was tearing that belief down piece by piece, but she didn’t want to end up reinforcing it by mistake.
For several minutes, the two mares sat on the couch in silence, Sea Swirl enjoying the feeling of Symphony’s head resting atop her own. She wanted to wrap her foreleg around the mare—or better still, have Symphony do it to her—but she was content with the moment. Their relationship was still on new, unfamiliar ground. Every touch sent of shiver through Sea Swirl; every look made her heart race. Even the simple brush of Symphony’s tail on her back leg was enough to brighten the Unicorn’s face, so resting together like this was plenty for now. 
But eventually, the silence had to end and the world had to move forward once more. 
“Can I ask what the dress is for?” the Unicorn whispered, breaking the silence and saving herself from falling asleep. She smiled to herself when Symphony twitched. Apparently, she had fallen asleep.
“I…” Symphony took a deep breath and Sea Swirl felt the mare’s body begin to shake. “I have been asked to perform at an upcoming event. Here is the letter.”
“Hm?” Sea Swirl reluctantly pulled her head away as Symphony fished an envelope out of her saddlebag. The Unicorn grabbed it with her magic and pulled the letter out. Her eyes skimmed the writing. 
“It is at the Royal Palace for—”
“WHAT?!” Sea Swirl jumped up on her couch. Her back arched in the air as her tail beat the cushions. Her eyes were wide as her nostrils and cheeks flared with each furious breath. How dare she! How DARE—
“Sea Swirl?” Symphony whispered, snapping the mare back to reality. 
The Unicorn blinked a few times before looking at the mare next to her. The confusion and worry in the eyes staring back at her instantly made the Unicorn shrink. She flopped back down on the couch and hung her head. 
“Uh, sorry about that,” she whispered as she looked at Symphony out of the corner of her eyes. 
“What was ‘that’ all about?” Symphony asked, her worry now replaced with the all-too-familiar annoyance and dash of anger. 
“Um…” Sea Swirl scratched the back of her neck. “I’m just…really excited. For you. I mean, this is what you’ve dreamed about, right?” Sea Swirl looked at the letter once again. “Getting to play at the royal palace. And for the New Year’s Party, no less.”
I wonder what the punishment for regicide is, because when I see Celestia again…!
“Yes…” Symphony said, clearly not believing Sea Swirl’s lie. “It also says I may bring a guest, as you can see.”
“Yep,” Sea Swirl said, then added in her mind, Oh, you are DEAD, Celestia!
“Will that be you?” 
Sea Swirl’s anger at her royal friend faded. She had already suspected—hoped, even—that Symphony would ask her to accompany her, but hearing the mare actually do it made her swoon. 
“If you want it to be,” she whispered, too shy to look Symphony in the face all of a sudden. 
“I promise to wear the dress you buy,” Symphony whispered, nuzzling Sea Swirl’s shoulder. 
“Did…did you just make a joke?”
“Maybe.”
Okay, first I will thank her. Then I’ll kill her. 
	
> Shattering 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sea Swirl was trying her best to behave. She was sitting calmly on the floor, her forelegs perfectly straight, ears forward, and hindquarters clenched. The only movement was the slight swishing of her tail across the carpet and her rapid breathing, which try as she might, she could not slow down. 
“Um…Symphony?” she called quietly. “We’re, um…you don’t have to do this. I mean, we already agreed on one, didn’t we?”
The deep royal purple curtain in front of the Unicorn rustled a bit and a moment later a quiet voice slipped out from behind it. 
“Do you want me to stop?”
“Uh…” Sea Swirl shifted her weight, trying her best not to accidently brush a certain part of her body. “Well…”
“I will stop if you wish.” A beautiful yellow head with soft purple hair poked out from behind the curtain. Two crystal blue eyes with a hint of green gazed at Sea Swirl, their stunning colors half covered by eyelids with delicate lashes. “But you seem to be enjoying this…display.”
Sea Swirl swallowed. She squeezed her hindquarters even harder, trying to keep herself planted firmly on the floor. “Um…it’s just, you’re taking a long time.”
“My apologies,” the Earth pony said. She hung her head, still not revealing the rest of her body from behind the curtain. “I did not realize you were in a hurry. I will finish up.”
“No!” Sea Swirl jumped to her hooves and instantly regretted the decision. Her hind legs were nearly numb, and it wasn’t entirely from just sitting on them. “I-I mean, maybe…I could come back there and…help you get changed?”
The Earth pony looked up and, once again, Sea Swirl had the dreaded sensation that she had crossed a line. She was still trying to figure out how to read Symphony, because even though the mare had said that Sea Swirl was hers, there were times where she still had a look of…something on her face. Sea Swirl wouldn’t call it ‘disgust’ exactly. Maybe ‘uncertain’ fit better, but whatever the look was, it was the one Symphony was wearing now. 
Sea Swirl gulped and struggled to hold the mare’s flat stare, and just when she was about to break and look away, her courage was rewarded. 
A grin that made Sea Swirl nearly have to excuse herself spread across Symphony’s face. It was a look the Unicorn had only seen once before—that night, specifically when Symphony had taken complete control—and seeing it in the private dressing room they were in made Sea Swirl want to scream. Instead, she bit her lip and let out a pathetic whimper. 
“Somepony needs help,” Symphony said in a voice that made Sea Swirl’s tail go stiff. “But…it is not me.”
“Symphonyyyyyy…!” Sea Swirl whined. She lowered to body to the floor and buried her head in her hooves. She physically hurt. She had tasted a forbidden fruit that night, and no matter how had she tried, she could not get the taste out of her mind. 
“Do you…want me?”
Sea Swirl whimpered from under her hooves. 
“Do you want to come in here with me?”
Sea Swirl nodded her head, but refused to look up.
“My Unicorn will look at me when I address her!”
Sea Swirl peeked out from under one of her hooves and nearly lost all conscious thought. Symphony had emerged from behind the curtain and was dressed in an outfit that would be risqué even by the shadiest nightclubs’ standards. It was a two-piece, both parts made of black fabric. The top was little more than a strip of black cloth running across her upper body. It pressed tightly against her body, squishing her fur and showing off her curves. 
The bottom part was a miniskirt that hugged the Earth pony’s flank in a way that Sea Swirl didn’t think was possible. She could see every curve along Symphony’s backside, and she found her eyes tracing the mare’s outline as she licked her lips. Worse, there were garter straps going down from the miniskirt and connecting to fishnet stockings on Symphony’s hind legs. 
“Celestia…” Sea Swirl whispered as her body gave out. 
“Do you want me to press you against the wall in here and choke you while I wear this?”
“YES!” Sea Swirl had tears in her eyes as she lay on the floor, staring at a sight that even her wildest dreams never would have imagined. “Please! Please, do it! Do anything you want to me!” 
Symphony waved a single hoof and Sea Swirl rushed forward. She nearly tackled Symphony back into the private dressing room, but she tripped on the curtain and wound up falling forward. She braced herself to land face-first on the floor, but Symphony reached out and caught her with her foreleg. 
“Uh, thanks,” Sea Swirl said, staring at the yellow body that was now dangerously close to her face. “Guess I got a little—woah!” 
Sea Swirl suddenly found herself lifted up and spun through the dressing room. She crashed into the back wall and was about to fall forward, but a firm hoof to her chest kept her pinned. 
Symphony was standing on her hind legs like she had when she had played her violin that night, and Sea Swirl suddenly had a whole new appreciation for the outfit she was wearing. The fishnet stockings were stretched against her hind legs to the point that her yellow coat was threatening to burst through them. Her miniskirt was hugging her hips in a way that Sea Swirl had never seen on a pony, riding up enough to leave barely a hint to the imagination of what was hidden, and her black top stretched and contracted with every breath as she held Sea Swirl against the wall. 
“For a pony who lives in Canterlot, you are not terribly skilled on your hind legs,” the Earth pony said as she drew closer. “I feel that, should I remove my hoof, you will fall flat on your face.”
“Y-Yeah,” Sea Swirl stammered as Symphony drew right up to her. “Never got the hang of walking on just my back legs.”
“Tell me something then,” Symphony said. “Does that mean you have never been…have you never…like this?” For a brief moment, Symphony’s allure broke and she turned back into that frighten mare Sea Swirl had found sitting on her bed several nights ago; the mare that was scared of what was happening between them. Her face turned pink and her eyes darted to the side, but her hoof remained steadfastly in place. 
Sea Swirl took that as a good sign at least. 
“Are you asking if I’ve ever done it standing—?”
Sea Swirl was cut off as Symphony’s other hoof came forward and pressed down on her throat. She gasped , more from pleasure than shock, and Symphony struck like a coiled snake. Her mouth clamped down on Sea Swirl’s, and the Unicorn instantly felt the mare’s tongue lashing around in her mouth, intertwining with her own. 
Sea Swirl’s entire body trembled and she reached forward with her forelegs, pulling Symphony closer as blood rushed through her body. Doing so caused Symphony’s thigh to slip between her own hind legs and the mare’s garter strap brushed her. Sea Swirl gasped and nearly collapsed, but Symphony kept her pinned to the wall. 
“Like that?” the mare whispered as she pulled out of the kiss. She was still pressing down hard on Sea Swirl’s throat, so all the Unicorn could manage was a weak nodded. “What about this?”
Symphony pressed her thigh further between Sea Swirl’s legs as she kissed her again. 
It only took two presses. 
Sea Swirl had had some intense experiences before in her life. When she had and Yukari had been together, the Griffon had shown Sea Swirl things with her talons that no pony could ever hope to match. She still had a few striking memories that she recalled on lonely nights. 
But all of those memories were shoved aside as Sea Swirl’s hind legs went numb. She had never been forced to remain standing on them after it happened, and the sensation was unbelievable. It was made even more exciting by the fact that she was standing only on her hind legs. Her knees trembled in a way she had never felt before, and if not for Symphony’s thigh, she would be slouched against the wall. She wanted to scream, but the combination of Symphony’s tongue in her mouth and the mare’s hoof on her throat, all that escaped her was a primal sound that she only made in the deep throes of emotion. 
Symphony pressed her entire body against Sea Swirl and held her against the wall, forcing her tongue into her mouth and her thigh between her legs until the Unicorn became nothing more than goo. Her forelegs let go of Symphony and she slouched against the wall, her body trembling in new and exciting ways as the Earth pony finished with her. 
Symphony pulled out of the kiss and Sea Swirl watched a lone strand of spit hang between their lips for a few moments before it fell on her lush yellow body. She eased up on Sea Swirl’s throat a little, allowing her to breath easier, but the hoof on her chest remained in place. 
“Did my Unicorn like that?” 
Sea Swirl couldn’t bring herself to form words, so she just nodded. 
“Hm…” Symphony stared at her again, her eyes clouding over for a moment as they looked up and down the Unicorn’s standing form. She didn’t move her thigh away, nor did she stop pinning Sea Swirl to the wall. She just stood there for a while, her eyes darting from Sea Swirl’s face, to her neck, to her chest, and even to the wall behind her. 
Finally, Sea Swirl began to worry. “Um…Symphony? Is everything—aahh!”
Symphony pressed her thigh between Sea Swirl’s legs. “Quiet,” she ordered as she pressed down on Sea Swirl’s throat again. 
The Unicorn’s body surged as the thrills rushed through her. In no time at all, Symphony pushed her over the limit again. She tried to moan, but Symphony kept her throat pressed close, her pressure nearing dangerous levels, but the thrill of it only excited her more. 
Her hind legs went beyond numb. They felt like they were no longer attached to her body and she knew that if Symphony pulled away, she would collapse on the floor in a pile of ecstasy. 
But Symphony wasn’t done. She kept rubbing her thigh between Sea Swirl’s legs. Sea Swirl lost count of how many times the mare pushed her over the edge as her mind went to a place that she hadn’t experienced since…she couldn’t even remember. Symphony had broken her, and she loved it. 
The Unicorn leaned against the wall, her breath coming in shallow, pleasured gasps. Her eyes were closed and she tried to regain sensation in her body, but the only thing she could feel was the weight of her head and the soft breeze of Symphony’s breath on her cheek. She was vaguely aware of the thigh she was now using as her main support, and somewhere in the back of her mind she could still feel the hoof pressing down on her throat, but right now all she wanted to do was stay against the wall, letting the passion and excitement leak out of her. 
Without warning, Symphony pulled all of Sea Swirl’s support away. Her hooves stopped pinning her to the wall and, more importantly, she pulled her thigh out from between Sea Swirl’s legs. With nothing left to support her, and her body still in the early stages of shock recovery, the Unicorn collapsed in a heap on the dressing room floor. 
“You are filthy,” Symphony said. Sea Swirl rolled her head and looked up at the mare standing over her. She was still on her hind legs, with her front hooves resting on her hips. Her purple tail swished a few times before it brushed Sea Swirl’s muzzle. “You stained this outfit. Look.”
Symphony gestured to her thigh, the one that had been between Sea Swirl’s legs moments ago. Sure enough, the fur was matted and the garter strap was glistening in the dim light. 
“Guess…” Sea Swirl found the effort to speak taxing. Her tongue felt too big for her mouth, but she forced herself to keep going. “Guess…I’ll have to…buy it too, huh?”
“You best do so,” Symphony said as she undid the garter straps and pulled the fishnets off her body. She paused for a moment, glancing down at Sea Swirl, and then she casually tossed the stockings on top of the Unicorn. 
“Sweet Celestia, you’re hot…” Sea Swirl whispered as the stockings fell on her head. She tried to stand, but her hind legs refused to budge, so she stayed on the floor and watched the Earth pony slip out of the rest of the outfit. 
“So you say,” Symphony said, her back to Sea Swirl. She wiggled out of the black miniskirt—Sea Swirl wanted to believe she was giving her a front row view on purpose—and folded it nicely before putting it on the small bench in the room. She did the same with the top and then walked toward the curtain. 
“You’re…sure you can cover these purchases?”
“No…no problem…” Sea Swirl forced an exhausted smile. Her hind legs were still refusing to stand, so all she could do was blink at the yellow pony. “Besides, if this is how you’re going to pay me back…I’ll buy the whole store.”
“Hm…” Symphony didn’t turn around for a few moments, but when she did, her face was a strange mix of happiness and…something else. “I will be taking the dress you chose for me back home.”
“My place, right?”
Symphony hesitated. “Yes…that is what I meant. But I have a stop to make beforehoof, so I will be a bit late.”
“I…” Sea Swirl tried to stand but her legs gave out. She fell back on the floor with a solid thud. “I can come with you, if you…uh, just give me a minute. Or five.”
“No, my Unicorn has…made a mess of herself. I will not be seen in public with her like this.”
“Hey, it’s your fault,” Sea Swirl protested. 
“I am…pleased to hear that.” Symphony tilted her head to the side, her purple mane spilling down one side of her face and neck as the strange look crossed her face and eyes once more. Then she blinked and the look vanished. “I will see you later.”
With that, Symphony spun around with Canterlot-level elegance and vanished from the dressing room. 
Sea Swirl stayed in the dressing room for another five minutes before she was finally able to stand. She packed up her new favorite outfit, her mind racing with ideas of what Symphony could do to her in it, and made her way out of the dressing room on shaky legs. She pushed the curtain aside and reached the door. She took several deep breaths before she was able to grab the doorknob and open it. 
“Found another outfit, dearie?” Sassy Saddles asked with a knowing smile. 
“Um…yes…” Sea Swirl said, her cheeks burning. 
When Symphony had said she needed a dress for the New Year’s Party tomorrow, Sea Swirl knew there was only one place in Canterlot to go. They had gone straight to Canterlot Carousel today and had spent a good hour simply picking out dresses that might look good. Sea Swirl full admitted that she didn’t know the first thing about real fashion, so Sassy had been more that happy make suggestions until they had narrowed it down to three choices. 
Symphony had then started trying on one of the dresses when more ponies had entered the shop. It quickly became apparent that the Earth pony was not comfortable showing off her dresses in the public. Sassy had pointed out the dressing rooms, but even that hadn’t been enough to quell Symphony’s anxiety.
It was then that Sassy had said that Rarity had a more private dressing room in the back of the shop, reserved for ponies that were interested in trying on more…thrilling outfits, and that no pony else was using it. 
So Sea Swirl and Symphony had spent a while in the back room, Symphony trying on each of the dresses and showing them off for Sea Swirl in her own private fashion show. It had taken them another half hour to finally settle on one, and as they were walking out, Sea Swirl had jokingly pointed out some of the more sultry outfits, saying Symphony should try one of them on too.
Sea Swirl’s jaw had nearly hit the floor when Symphony agreed, and what should have only been a half hour in the back quickly turned into…
Sea Swirl blushed as she looked at the clock. They had been back there that long? 
“Uh…I hope we weren’t, you know…disturbing your customers,” she whispered as she sheepishly pulled out the bits for the dress that Symphony had taken as well as the outfit in Sea Swirl’s saddlebag. 
“Bobbines and bodkins, no,” Sassy said with a wink. “Rarity made sure that room had a sound-cancelling spell placed on it. Of course, there is the extra fee for the clea—”
“Right, got it!” Sea Swirl said quickly as she slammed down a few more bits, her face redder than she thought possible. There were other ponies in the store now, and the last thing she needed was for them to overhearing things. 
“Thank you for shopping at Canterlot Carousel,” Sassy said with a beaming smile. “Do let me know how she likes the dress.” 
Sea Swirl, her face still burning, nodded and dashed out the front door, avoiding eye contact with every other pony in the store. 
As soon as she was back outside, the cold winter air bit into her steaming body. She gasped as it made its presence known on certain damp parts of her coat. Symphony was right, she decided as she shivered and pulled her scarf tighter across her neck. She needed to get home and take a shower. 
I have to pay her back for this tonight, she thought as she trudged through the snow in Canterlot’s streets. It wasn’t fair that Sea Swirl had gotten to have all the fun today, after all. 


*                                                  *                                                  *


Symphony had lied. She had no other place to go. She just wanted to get away to collect her thoughts. 
The snow was beginning to fall once again, adding to the already considerable amount on the ground. For a few minutes, the mare walked through the white powder, her booted hooves crunching it with every step, but eventually the cold began to eat through her scarf and yellow coat, so she ducked inside a small tea shop.
“Hello, ma’am,” the hostess said. “Is it just you?”
“Yes,” Symphony said. 
“Follow me please.”
Symphony followed the mare to a table toward the back. She sat down and ordered a single cup of tea and bread, and the hostess left with the order. A few moments later, a waiter came over and dropped off her meal, leaving her alone with her thoughts. 
“What am I doing?” she whispered as she stared at her reflection in the tea. She had just sexually pleasured Sea Swirl in a public place. She had pinned her to the wall and made her climax again and again. Willingly. And she hadn’t even let Sea Swirl do the same to her.
I don’t want her to do that to me! Symphony thought bitterly. Right…?
Of course she didn’t. The idea of having such a lewd thing done to her in public, where the risk of being discovered was too great, terrified her. But she quickly realized that such a reservation made little sense. She was too frightened to have it done to her, but she was fine doing it to Sea Swirl? That was absurd. If Sassy Saddles had walked back there, she would not have cared what position Symphony was in; she would have simply known that Symphony was involved in…that sort of activity.
“So then…why did I did I like doing it to her?” Symphony asked herself. She had been wondering that since she had first stuck her head out of the dressing room earlier and seen the beaming look on Sea Swirl’s face. The Unicorn’s two reddish eyes seemed to only see Symphony when they looked at her, and the mare liked that. But why? Why did she like it, when she wasn’t a fillyfooler? She didn’t like mares! Sea Swirl was her Unicorn, sure, but that…that didn’t mean…she wasn’t a…right? Yes, she enjoyed that night. She also enjoyed the cuddling, the kissing, the stroking, and even just having Sea Swirl around for company…
But that didn’t make her one of…them! She just…liked making Sea Swirl smile, that was all. That did not mean she preferred the company of mares in any—
“I just pleasured her until she could barely walk!” Symphony hissed, tears swelling in her eyes. 
And…I enjoyed it!
That was the part that had made Symphony run away from Sea Swirl a little while ago. The Earth pony had loved pinning the Unicorn to the wall. She had relished choking her, pressing her throat until her eyes went wide. She had shoved her thigh between Sea Swirl’s hind legs and wanted the Unicorn’s fluids to stain her. She had pressed her as hard as she could, and she would have kept going, until a horrifying thought had jumped into her mind.
The feeling of power, of control, that she received when she choked Sea Swirl was a rush of its own. There was a primal part of her mind that enjoyed the idea of her Unicorn being at her mercy, knowing that she could cause her harm and yet Sea Swirl let her do things anyway. Symphony reluctantly admitted that she enjoyed that feeling of domination, and she doubted it was simply because Sea Swirl was a Unicorn. But she had come to terms with those feelings earlier, the most private parts of her mind that she would never let anypony see.
She had not stopped because she liked the feeling she was getting. She had stopped because she had realized she liked making Sea Swirl happy. Yes, the feeling of acting out a dark power fantasy over a Unicorn was nice, but Symphony had realized, as she had felt Sea Swirl contract again on her thigh, that she was enjoying the experience because Sea Swirl was enjoying it. 
Sea Swirl’s tired but blissful smile, her shaky but excited breathing, her quivering but enamored eyes, the way she wrapped her forelegs tightly around Symphony’s body; those sights had made Symphony so happy because she knew that Sea Swirl was truly content, and that had made Symphony’s heart swell. 
“I…” Symphony stared at the yellow pony looking back at her from the teacup. Despite the tears threatening her eyes, a smile was starting to creep onto her lips. “I…I guess I am a…fillyfoo—”
“Um…Symphony?”
Symphony froze as the quiet voice reached her ears. She wanted to run, but the table she was seated at was in the back of the shop, against the wall. The only place she had to go was toward the entrance, and she got the feeling that if she raised her head, she would find that path blocked.
Instead, she just looked at her tea and bread.
“Still as rude as ever,” another voice added.
Symphony’s ear twitched at the second voice. 
“B.B., please…” 
Symphony heard a pony slowly walk across the floor, followed by another one. A moment later, the corner of her view darkened as one of the ponies crept into the edge of her vision. 
“Um…can we talk?”
Symphony remained perfectly still in her seat. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts so violent that she could not make the conscious effort to speak. Why were they here? Hadn’t they ruined her life enough? Was it because for, the first time in her life, Symphony felt like she might be happy, so they showed up to destroy it all? 
“Still stuck up too.” The other voice practically spit the words at Symphony.  “Come on, Fiddlesticks. You’re wasting your time, and I’m suddenly not hungry.” 
“Why are you here?” Symphony asked in a voice that barely reached a whisper.
“What was that?”
Symphony turned to look at the two ponies standing next to her table. The furthest one was sky blue with a brown mane and tail. She wore a pink bowtie around her neck, much like Symphony’s own purple one, and her light purple eyes were narrowed to the point of disgust, mirroring the feeling in Symphony’s mind. Her cutie mark was an F-clef, marking her as a pony who loved music. For all intents and purposes, this mare looked like she belonged in Canterlot, and if Symphony did not already know her, she would have made that assumption. 
The same could not be said of her companion, the pony who was now standing practically next to Symphony. Her coat was yellow, much like Symphony’s, but that was where their similarities ended. While Symphony was dressed properly, this mare wore a plaid red winter coat that had clearly seen too many seasons. Under it, Symphony saw that she had on a green shirt, likely the same tattered one she had ben wearing when they had first met. Her country reddish-orange bandana was pulled tightly around her neck to protect against the winter cold, and instead of wearing a hat or even earmuffs, she still wore her ridiculous white cowgirl hat, with its frayed edges and brim drooping from snow. The only thing missing was the tacky sash she wore around her waste to keep her shirt on, and Symphony wouldn’t be surprised if it was just under her plaid coat. 
Her dark blue mane was a total mess, nothing like Symphony’s beautiful purple one, and her tail was looking a little tangled, completely opposite of Symphony’s wavy one. Her eyes, matching the color of the mare with her, were trying hard to smile, but Symphony easily saw the terror and uncertainty hiding behind them, and it made her sick. She didn’t want this false pity. Symphony knew this mare hated her, just like her marefriend behind. The only difference was that this pony was trying to hide it.
But the thing that disgusted Symphony the most wasn’t this mare’s lack of basic fashion sense, or her hick country appearance, or even the false look of concern in her eyes. 
It was her cutie mark. It was a music symbol, just like Symphony’s. It was a treble clef, bright blue against her yellow flank, announcing to the world that she was skilled in music, just like Symphony’s eighth note did. It was infuriating to think that this pony possessed the same talent as Symphony, and worse remembering that not only had ponies mistaken Symphony for her after the talent show, but that this pony had actually beat her at the talent show.
The fact that she was related to Octavia, one of Canterlot’s highest regarded musicians, was just pouring salt on the wound. 
“What? You too good to answer the question now?” Beauty Brass snapped.
Symphony looked at her for a moment, blinked, and then returned her gaze to Fiddlesticks. “Why are you here?” she asked again, a little louder this time. 
“Well, um…” Fiddlesticks’ ears flopped against her head, vanishing behind a tidal wave of blue hair. “It’s snowing outside, and we were kind of hungry, so we thought we’d wait out the storm and, uh…”
“I mean, why are you in Canterlot?” Symphony said. “Shouldn’t you back on your farm, raising chickens and herding pigs or…something?” 
Didn’t you already ruin my life enough? she silently added. 
“Watch it…” Beauty Brass growled.
The memory of the Earth pony slugging Symphony in the jaw flashed through Symphony’s mind and she recoiled for a moment, but then she puffed her chest out defiantly as she glared back at the mare. 
“Oh,” Fiddlesticks said, her voice jumping up a few notes as she smiled. “B.B. got tickets to the New Year’s Party, so…” A shadow passed across Fiddlesticks’ face for a moment. “Um…do you want one?”
“Oh buck no!” Beauty Brass shouted, drawing a few stunned looks from the other ponies in the tea shop. 
“B.B., calm down,” Fiddlesticks whispered, nervously looking around at all the ponies staring at them now. “It’s my ticket, I can do what I want with it.”
“No, they’re my tickets,” the Earth pony countered in a loud whisper. 
“And one of them you gave to me,” Fiddlesticks replied, turning to put her hoof on Beauty Brass’ nose. “Which makes it mine. And I can—”
“If you give her that ticket, then she can have mine too, because I’m not going with her.” 
“Like I would wish to be your date,” Symphony said, her eyes narrowing. 
“Cute. You think I’d actually want you to be my date,” Beauty Brass shot back, stepping closer to Fiddlesticks. “I’d sooner—”
“Enough!” Fiddlesticks shouted, stunning not only Beauty Brass, but Symphony as well, into silence. “B.B., I am trying to be nice, but so help me, interrupt me again, and I’ma gonna show ya’ what happens when ya’ make me right steamed!”
Symphony couldn’t quite make sense of the emotions going through her mind right then. On the one hoof, she was ecstatic at the look of shock and fear on Beauty Bitch’s face, but on the other hoof she was terrified of the farm pony who had just gone full rural countryside in front of her. As uncivilized as her speech had become, it still struck a primal fear deep in Symphony’s heart. 
“Besides,” Fiddlesticks said as she turned back to Symphony, her speech back to normal pony standards, “Symphony’s already going to the party, aren’t you?”
“Hm?” Symphony asked. There was no way these two should know that.
“The bag,” Fiddlesticks said as she titled her head toward the shopping bag on the floor, next to Symphony’s saddlebag. “That’s the finest fancy clothes shop in Canterlot right now, ain’t it?”
“Isn’t,” Symphony said.
“It ain’t? But I keep hearing all these ponies talk about it. B.B. and I went there the other day to pick out our gowns even.”
Symphony sighed and took a sip of her tea. It wasn’t cold yet, but it wasn’t hot anymore either. “Never mind. Yes, I am going to the New Year’s Party, so no, I do not need your ticket.” 
Suddenly, an idea flashed in Symphony’s head. Yes, she would be at that party. She was definitely going to be there. In fact, the party would not be the same without her…
“Oh, that’s great,” Fiddlesticks’ said, bouncing on her hooves a little. 
“It is?” Beauty Brass asked, but she fell silent when Fiddlesticks shot her a look. 
“Maybe we’ll see you there. I bet you’ll look great in your gown.”
Sea Swirl seems to think I do.
Symphony brushed the happy thought away in favor of the darker emotions now slowly swelling up in side of her. This was perfect. This was her one chance at revenge, her one chance to take down the pony that had ruined her life, and she was going to revel in it. 
“I believe you will see me, yes,” she said, her eyes narrowing as a smile came to her lips. 
“Really?” Fiddlesticks and Beauty Brass said at the same time. 
“I-I mean, that’s great and all, but…” Fiddlesticks’ ears flopped again and she looked down at the floor. For a moment, Symphony’s resolve wavered. “It’s just…after the talent show, I’m…kind of surprised that you’d want to find us at the party.”
The memory of the talent show, and her humiliation the following day, came rushing back, along with all of Symphony’s bitter resolve. “Oh, I did not say I would find you. I said you will see me.”
“Um…huh?” Fiddlesticks said. 
Beauty Brass just glared, but kept her mouth shut. 
“You see, Fiddlesticks, I will be preforming there.” Symphony closed her eyes, sat up straighter, and puffed her chest out even more. “Princess Celestia herself asked it of me. Of course, I am being paid a rather generous amount in return for my talent, but that is secondary. What matters” Symphony opened one eye to look at the two ponies “is that I was hoofpicked by the most important pony in the world to perform at one of her biggest celebrations.”
Take that! How does it feel to know I’m better than you! The entire city of Canterlot is going to be staring up at me tomorrow night, and you’ll just be some faceless nobody in the crowd! They will finally see my brilliance, and all you will have left is you stupid little fiddle and your hayseed music that—
“That’s awesome!” 
“Wha…agh!”
Before Symphony could process what she had just heard, she found herself wrapped up in a hug that threatened to crush the life out of her. Her mind immediately started screaming, but her body was too shocked to do anything but tense up as the uncultured pony performed an action that was beyond Symphony’s comprehension. 
“Oh, sorry!” Fiddlesticks quickly pulled out of the hug and stepped away from the table. Her cheeks were crimson and she yanked her hat down over her eyes. “You, uh…probably didn’t want me to do that.”
Symphony made several attempts at speech, but all of them were little more than random sounds. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked at the mare that had ruined her life, not in anger, but in sheer confusion. “Why…?”
“I’m just so excited for you!” Fiddlesticks said, her blue eyes peeking out from beneath her hat for a moment. “I mean, this is huge for you, right?”
“Yes…” Symphony replied, at a complete loss for words. “It is. But why do you…?”
“Because Fiddle is a kindhearted pony, unlike—” Beauty Brass said. A quick look from Fiddlesticks made Beauty Brass stop short. “She’s genuinely happy for you, for some reason.” 
“Well, um…” Symphony felt like she was sinking into her seat. All the rage and contempt, and the blissful revenge she had been savoring, was now turning into ash in her body. All she wanted to do was run back to Sea Swirl’s bed and—
“So, does that mean Sea Swirl gave you back your violin?” Fiddlesticks asked. 
“Yes,” Symphony said, a bit of the edge returning to her voice. “After you sold it to a pawnshop.”
“What?” Fiddlesticks asked.
“We should have sold it, after what you did to hers, but we didn’t,” Beauty Brass added. “All we did was give it to Sea Swirl to give to you.”
“I was trying to give it back to you ever since…well, things happened,” Fiddlesticks said as she looked at the ground. “But we could never find you, and Sea Swirl said she knew you, so…”
Symphony’s blood started to run cold. Sea Swirl hadn’t found her violin in a pawnshop. These two ponies had given it to her. 
She…lied. She lied to me.
Symphony felt the darkest part of her mind begin to stir once more. The part she had been fighting against the past few months; the part she had locked away for the past few weeks; the part she had almost banished before these two had appeared.
“Um…Symphony?” Fiddlesticks whispered. She pulled her hat off her head and held it to her chest, allowing her blue mane to spill down her shoulders in full view. “Can I…ask you something?”
“Yes,” Symphony replied automatically. Her brain was too busy trying to figure out why that Unicorn had lied to her about this. Sea Swril had met Fiddlesticks and Beauty Brass, and had not mentioned it. No doubt they had said unkind things about Symphony. Had Sea Swirl stood up for her? Or had she agreed with them? After all, Symphony had not been the kindest pony when they had first met.
Wait…how long ago did this occur?
Symphony suddenly realized that she had no idea when Sea Swirl had actually met these two. Had she met them the day she had given Symphony the violin, or had it been before that? Had she been meeting with them for weeks? Months? Why hadn’t she mentioned it? What had they talked about? 
“Um…Sea Swirl thought that we had…done some things to you.”
No…! Symphony’s blood turned to ice. The darkest part of her mind grew fangs that glimmered in the shadows of her consciousness.
“She…mentioned a cliff.”
No! No no no no! 
“And a waterfall?”
Sea Swirl knew. She KNEW! She knew everything, and she had…! 
The fangs stuck, driving deep into Symphony’s mind and plunging down into her heart. 
She tricked me! 
That single thought tore through every fiber of Symphony’s being. She felt numb, frozen, and burning all at the same time. Her forelegs trembled in rage as her hind legs shook in shock. Her scalp felt as though spiders were crawling on it while ants dug into her yellow fur. Her body threatened to split open at every joint and spill her soul across the table as the thought continued to echo through her.
“Symphony? Are you okay? You’re crying!”
Sea Swirl had known the truth, possibly since they had first met. And she had kept pretending to believe that other ponies had tried to kill Symphony anyway. Why? Why had she lied? Why had she pretended to take Symphony’s side when she had known all along that—
Because she wanted you!
That thought, given existence by the darkness now eating away at her, cancelled out everything else she was feeling. It sank into the bottom of her stomach, and there it began to glow, a single light against the blackness in her.
Remember? Remember where you woke up that night?
Symphony replayed the events of their first night meeting. She had awoke in Sea Swirl’s bed. She had accused Sea Swirl of saving her only to sleep with her. But she had been wrong, right? 
No! No, you were right! Remember the trip to the ocean! 
That was right. Sea Swirl had “pretended” to fall asleep on her on the train, and then she had “accidently” booked a room with only one bed. And then, she had slept in the same bed with Symphony!
But…I did that. I put her in the bed! I didn’t want her to sleep on the floor…
She knew you’d do that! She wanted it to happen!
The memory of the next morning flashed in Symphony’s mind. Sea Swirl, pressed against her, stimulating herself “unconsciously” against Symphony’s body. That…hadn’t been on purpose, right? 
But what if it was? What if…?
That’s right! You ended up enjoying that!
That was true. Symphony had loved having the Unicorn hold her, and she had kept it secret for a long time, locked away in the part of her mind that thsi darkness had now escaped from. 
But you couldn’t fight it, could you? She knew you couldn’t. That’s why she let you stay over…
Symphony finally felt a tear roll down her cheek. 
She used me! She was just looking for somepony to…to buck! And I fell for it! She pretended to care about me! She pretended to be my friend! She pretended that she, that she…but this whole time, she was lying! She tricked me into sleeping with her! She was just trying to wear me down with the job, and her compassion, and her friendship! But it all meant nothing! NOTHING! 
That filthy Unicorn had used her. She had stolen her first kiss, her first time, and her first…everything! Just like a typical, filthy, disgusting Unicorn would! 
“Every pony in Canterlot is the same!” Symphony growled, a roaring fire of anguish and rage swelling in her chest now. “Every Unicorn is the same! All they do is use other ponies!”
“Symphony?”
Symphony looked up at the worried faces of Fiddlesticks and Beauty Brass, stunned to find them still there. She opened her mouth and screamed, “AND SEA SWIRL IS THE WORST OF THEM ALL!” 
The yellow mare sprang up from her seat, grabbed her saddlebags and shopping bag, and dashed out of the teashop. She did not notice the cold winter air cutting into her soaked cheeks. 



*                                                  *                                                  *


Sea Swirl stepped out her shower slowly. She wasn’t worried about slipping because of her soaking wet hooves. She just wasn’t sure if her legs were ready to really support her. The walk home from Canterlot Boutique had taken longer than it should have, and the entire time she had been reminded that she needed a shower thanks to the cold air between her hind legs. 
She had spent her entire shower huddled on the floor, letting the water beat on her as she tried to get the memories of her time with Symphony out of her head. She had been trying to get clean after all, not make more of a mess. 
“Okay, just take it slow,” she said to herself as she grabbed a towel with her magic. Her legs seemed to finally be working again, so she dried herself off—careful not to spend too much time in a certain area—and hung the towel over the door to dry. She then made her way out of the bathroom and down the hall toward the living room.
“I wonder if she’s back yet?” the Unicorn pondered as she entered the living room. Symphony consumed most of her thoughts now, especially when they weren’t together. Sea Swirl often found herself simply thinking about the mare’s all-too-rare smile, and taking comfort in the fact that it seemed to be showing up more and more in the last few days. “She’s probably just—oh! Symphony, you’re back!” 
Sea Swirl couldn’t hide the little uptick in her voice when she saw the yellow mare sitting in her usual spot on the couch. 
“Yes,” she said, but she didn’t turn to face Sea Swirl. 
“Great,” Sea Swirl answered, a silly smile spreading across her face. She trotted around the couch so she could sit next to the pony that she couldn’t stop thinking about. “Say, I need to find something to wear tomorrow too, so I was wondering if you’d…”
Sea Swirl trailed off and stopped moving when she saw Symphony’s face. Her eyes were bright red and the yellow fur around her face was matted, but there were no actual tears anywhere. 
Instead, the musical pony’s face was locked in a scowl so cold that Sea Swirl wanted to take a step back. When the crystal eyes flicked toward her, she did. 
“Um…you okay, Symphony?” Sea Swirl asked, forcing herself to take a step forward. To her surprise, Symphony scooted further away on the couch. “Did…something happen while you were out?”
“Where did you get it?” Symphony asked, her voice low, like when they had first met.
“Get what?” Sea Swirl asked. She suddenly felt like she was standing out in the middle of a frozen lake and she could feel the ice cracking beneath her hooves. 
“My violin,” Symphony said, her eyes zeroing in on Sea Swirl so fast that the Unicorn couldn’t help but look away. 
“Oh, that?” Sea Swirl said as she scratched the back of her neck. “I told you. I found it in a pawnshop. I thought—”
“Liar,” Symphony whispered. 
“What?”
“You’re lying!” In a flash, Symphony was on all fours and leering toward Sea Swirl. The Unicorn couldn’t help but take several steps back until her tail brushed up against the wall. 
“Symphony, I don’t—”
“I saw them today,” Symphony said darkly. “That…mare and her stupid marefriend.”
“Um…” Sea Swirl panicked. The ice she was standing on was cracking beneath her and she couldn’t think straight. “You mean Fiddlesticks and Beauty Brass?”
“So you do know them!”
Shit! Wrong answer! Sea Swirl realized with a start, so she tried again. 
“I, uh…ran into them a while ago, yeah, but—”
Symphony’s eyes went wide for a moment and the rage on her face vanished in a flash of shock. She hung her head, her face vanishing beneath her beautiful purple hair, and then her entire body started trembling. A few moments later, the low sound of her laughter started to fill the room. 
“It’s true then,” she whispered, her head still hanging down. “I…I thought maybe I was making too big of a deal out of this, but I’m not!”
“Symphony, I really don’t know—”
“But you do!” The mare whipped her head up so fast that tears flew from her face. “You know, don’t you? How long have you been talking to them? How long since you first met them?”
Sea Swirl felt the ice give out under her hind legs in her mind. She was struggling to stay on stable ground. “Symphony, I really don’t know what you’re—”
“How. LONG?” Symphony shouted.
Sea Swirl swallowed. The ice was gone, and she found herself floating in the freezing water. Her only hope now was if somepony reached out a hoof to help her. “Um…Since I hired you? But I only talked to them that one time, honest! I haven’t been—”
“You have been acquainted for that long?” Symphony laughed as more tears streamed from her beautiful eyes. “You have strung me along for that long? Did you three enjoy talking about me? Did you tell them stories, about how you ‘took care’ of me because I was so pathetic? Did they laugh at the fact that you had me completely fooled? ”
“Symphony, listen,” Sea Swirl pleaded. She took a chance and stepped forward. When the mare didn’t back away, she took another step, and another, until she was close enough to place her hoof on the pony’s shaking shoulder. “I really have no idea what you’re talking about, but if I did something that’s made you this angry, then—”
“Shut up!” Symphony slapped Sea Swirl’s hoof away and backed up. “You’ve known for months that I tried to kill myself! I wasn’t attacked! I threw myself off that cliff!  And you knew it!” 
Sea Swirl, her offered hoof still hanging in the air, swallowed. She could feel something building in her chest. It was similar to drowning, only much worse. Drowning, she could fight against, use magic against. This, all she could do was try to outrun it.
“I…didn’t know when I saved you,” she said.
“But you knew before…before all of this!” Symphony waved her hoof around the living room.
The sensation was growing, swelling up in Sea Swirl’s chest now. Her throat was constricting, and not in a pleasurable way. “…Yes.”
“So…so what?” Symphony said, her face now a mess of matted fur, tangled mane, and salt water. “Did you think I was some broken thing? Some messed up pony that you could string along for your benefit? That’s it, isn’t it? ‘Oh, she tried to kill herself! She’s vulnerable! She’ll latch on to anypony that makes her feel like she’s more than nothing!’”
“No, I just—”
“Stop lying to me!” Symphony lunged forward and Sea Swirl jumped back, crashing against the wall. “You saw me like that and you thought you could use me!  That I was such a mess that of course I’d fall for all your stupid Unicorn tricks!”
“Tricks?” Sea Swirl asked, too terrified to move. The feeling was crushing her windpipe now, making it hard to breathe. 
“Offering me a job, being nice to me, offering me your bed, letting me sleep next to you! Holding me like that! Making me feel like I mattered to you!”
“You do matter to me!” Sea Swirl protested, a tear coming to her red eye. “I did those things because I…I care about you.”
“Ha! No you don’t! You cared about the fact that I was broken! ‘Poor little Symphony, trying to kill herself. She’s damaged goods, so she’ll be an easy mark.’”
“No,” Sea Swirl protested, barely squeaking the word out. “Stop it! I…I would never do anything like—”
“I was right that first night, wasn’t I?” Symphony sneered, cutting Sea Swirl off. “You saved me and hoped that I’d sleep with you as thanks! You wanted a little trophy, a little mare that you could fix up as your own and then buck whenever you wanted! You bucking used me! You’re no better than all the other Unicorns in this world!”
Sea Swirl’s throat closed in on itself and tears were flowing freely now. “Symphony, I swear, I…I…”
“Well guess what.” Symphony’s voice instantly became ice cold. Her shaking stopped and she marched up to Sea Swirl until she was so close that their muzzles were almost touching. “I used you too.”
Sea Swirl tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but she couldn’t. “You…what?”
“You heard me,” Symphony replied, leaning forward. “I saw how well off you are and I thought that if I could get in good with you, I could move up in Canterlot.”
“No…”
“Yes!” A wicked smile spread across Symphony’s face, and the image burned itself into Sea Swirl’s mind. “I saw how desperate you were. Even when you were asleep, I knew how bad you wanted me! The idea disgusts me, naturally. Sleeping with another mare! Ugh, just saying it makes my fur bristle.”
“No it doesn’t,” Sea Swirl whimpered. Her legs were threatening to give out on her as she huddled against the wall. “You…you can’t mean that…”
“But I realized,” Symphony continued, deaf to Sea Swirl’s pleas. “If I wanted to really get in good with you, I’d have to give it to you. So I did. I let a filthy fillyfooler—and a Unicorn one at that!—have her way with me, I let her soil me, all so I could get in with her. That is how it is done in Canterlot, after all. I know plenty of ponies who have slept their way up the ladder. But you know what? I don’t need you anymore! I’m playing for the Princesses tomorrow night, so I can stop with this stupid game you’ve been playing.”
“But…that night…”
“That night…?” Symphony tilted her head to the side. 
Sea Swirl saw the moment and jumped for it. “You can’t tell me that night…that was just…that it meant nothing to you! I saw you. I saw the way you looked at me! Remember? We…we stayed wrapped around each other all night. We held each other. I stroked your neck until you fell asleep next me.” Sea Swirl’s vision was blurred to the point where she could not longer see the details on Symphony’s face. “You…had a smile on your face”
Symphony’s scoffed. “Who wouldn’t enjoy sexual pleasure like that? It’s a biological reaction, and as loathe as I am to admit it, you clearly know the right places to touch. But it doesn’t mean anything more. The whole time, the only thing I was thinking was how disgusting it was. Did your really think one night would turn me into a fillyfooler? Into you?”
Sea Swirl’s mind finally collapsed on itself. She sank to the floor, the wall being the only thing that slowed her descent. Her vision lost focus as she stared at the nothingness that was turning into her life one painful heartbeat at a time. She wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear, but her body refused to work. Symphony was lying. She had to be lying. She just had to be…
A final hope clawed its way through the murk that was threatening to drown the Unicorn. Desperate to save herself, she gave it voice. 
“What…what about today? In the dressing room? You—”
“I…” Symphony seemed to waver, but then her hoof stomped on the ground. “I just wanted to use you one last time. I wanted to feel your throat constricting beneath my hoof, watch you struggle, like the filthy Unicorn you are. I wanted one more memory of knowing that I had you completely under my hoof. That I had beat you. That I had used your, and that a disgusting fillyfooler like you had no idea that I was still using you even at the end.”
“Liar…” Sea Swirl whispered. She could feel the tears on her face, but she had no strength to brush them away. “You’re lying. You…you have to be…”
“I…I thought…” Symphony’s voice cracked for a moment. “I...I used you. Just like you used me.”
Sea Swirl was barely able to see Symphony’s legs turn and walk out of sight. She heard the mare walk over to the door. She felt the cold air rush in as the door was opened.
“Symphony…please don’t…” Sea Swirl whimpered, too weak to turn her head. “I…I don’t want…please…”
Don’t leave me alone. Not again…
“I’ll send you the money for the dress.”
The door closed, but the living room remained cold. On its floor, slouched against a wall, a lavender Unicorn with a two-tone mane and tail curled up, buried her face in her forelegs, and wept late into the night. 
	
> Pieces
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia stifled a yawn in between the last few guests she was meant to greet. She thought she had been discreet, but she quickly heard the soft sound of her sister giggling next to her.
“It is past your bedtime, sister,” Luna whispered as the latest couple of ponies walked away from paying their respects. “A mare as old as you needs her rest, after all.”

“Not a…” Celestia couldn’t help the yawn that escaped her mouth a second time. “Not a chance. Somepony has to stay up to make sure her baby sister doesn’t ruin the castle with her overly enthusiastic celebrating again.”

Luna made an adorable face that Celestia was certain only she had ever seen. “It was one time, sister.”

“And we are still finding confetti years later,” Celestia countered.

It was all in good fun, of course. Luna knew that her older sister was usually out like a light by this time, since she had to be up to raise the sun in the morning. And Celestia had utter faith in Luna’s ability to host the party without her, but it was a rare chance for the two of them to be together this way, and rarer still when they we given a moment’s time to behave like siblings.

Sadly, the moment passed far too quickly as another pony slowly walked up the steps to greet the Princesses. Celestia couldn’t help but smile when she saw that there were no more citizens behind this one, which meant that the gates were closed and she and Luna could finally go take their seats and relax.

“Ah, we know you…” Luna said, her voice trailing off as she spoke. “You are a friend of our sister’s, yes?”

Celestia blinked when she heard Luna’s words, snapping herself back to reality. She knew many ponies, but she truly only counted a small number of them as actual friends. And with Twilight and her friends spending the New Year in Ponyville, that drastically reduced the number.

“Um, yes, Your Highness.”

“Sea Swirl?” Celestia bent down and gave the Unicorn a hug, half out of pure reflex, and half to cover her shock. Why was she so late? She had found it odd that she hadn’t seen the Unicorn yet this evening, but she had chalked it up to Sea Swirl being smitten with Symphony and thus following her around.

“Hello, Your Highness,” Sea Swirl whispered, barely returning the hug. Her voice was also quieter than normal, to the point where Celestia had to wonder if Sea Swirl had actually spoken.

“It is good to see you,” Celestia replied as she pulled away, curious as to her friend’s strange attitude. She took a quick glance at her and became even more confused.

Sea Swirl was never one for overly extravagant outfits, at least not to the level that her wealth allowed. She often chose to wear nothing at all, and when events demanded formal attire, she wore a simple dark purple skirt with a white top and an overly large hat—something Celestia had found rather out of character for her, until Sea Swirl had explained that she did it just because she liked watching ponies try to dodge the brim while still being “stuck up about it”.

But now she looked disheveled. Her deep emerald green dress was spilling around her body, but the way she was carrying herself made it look like it was hanging off of her instead of flattering her figure. Her mane was on the verge of being a tousled mess, its two-tone purple shades tangling all around her head and horn. Her tail was somehow worse, with tuffs of hair jutting out in random angles as it hung limply behind her. Her ears were practically against her head as they drooped, and the bags under her eyes made Celestia think that the mare hadn’t slept in days. Her light lilac coat, usually so pristine from time spent in mineral-rich waters, was dull and scuffed, especially around her cheeks and down her neck. Her entire face looked drawn back and faded, only serving to make the blemished coat even more noticeable.

But the most worrying things to Celestia were Sea Swirl’s eyes. Usually the two raspberry colored orbs were bright and full of excitement, adding to a smile that spoke of a gentle and ambitious soul. Now though, her eyes were faded, almost dark, and they remained half hidden as the Unicorn refused to look up at Celestia, instead preferring to stare at her hooves.

“Sea Swirl, is something the matter?” Celestia asked, although she had a fairly good idea what the trouble was. She had been alive for centuries, and she was more than familiar with the downtrodden and outcast appearance before her.

Sea Swirl’s ears twitched and her head shot up. “No. No, of course not,” she replied in an overly cheerful voice. “Just a little…tired is all. I mean, it’s pretty late.”

Celestia smiled at her friend’s attempt at bravery. “Oh, I know how you feel. I am so glad my sister is back to take over the nights once more.”

“You are welcome,” Luna said, and to her credit, she said nothing more, although she, too, could clearly tell something was amiss.

“I assume you have been busy these past few days as well,” Celestia continued. She was positive she knew what had happened and it broke her heart, but she had to be certain that this wasn’t really just Sea Swirl being exhausted. “What with helping Symphony prepare for tonight?”

Sea Swirl’s face went even paler than Celestia thought possible, and for a moment the Alicorn almost reached out to steady the mare, but she resisted and simply watched.

Sea Swirl stood motionless for a good five seconds before she blinked several times and forced a smile to her face.

“Uh…y-y-yeah,” she said, her voice threatening to break with each letter. “Busy. Really…b-busy…” She quickly rubbed her eyes with her foreleg, but she was not fast enough to hide the tears that had begun to twinkle. “Say, um…Celestia?”

“Yes?”

“Would it be, um…” Sea Swirl stopped again, and Celestia saw her throat contract several times as the Unicorn struggled to keep herself together. She closed her eyes as hard as she could, but traces of water still slipped out of their edges, and when they opened again, it was more than just her irises that were red. “Would it be…okay if I sat with you and Luna? I…um, Symphony…that is, I don’t want to make her nervous, so I said I’d be out of sight while she…while she played.”

“Of course,” Celestia said. She stepped forward and put one of her wings around her crumbling friend. Whatever had happened between Sea Swirl and Symphony, it was clear that it was not something Sea Swirl had been expecting. “You remember where our private box is, yes?”

“Y-Yeah…” Sea Swirl whispered as she leaned against Celestia’s foreleg.

“Just tell the guards the phrase, ‘Sun and Moon allow trespass’ and they will let you right in.”

“You’re…” Sea Swirl swallowed again, loud enough that Celestia could hear it. “You’re not coming?”

“I’ll be along shortly,” Celestia said. “My sister and I are still needed here for the moment.”

“Okay…”

“And do not worry, Sea Swirl. There will be no pony else there but you, my sister, and myself once the show begins.”

“Thanks.” With that, the Unicorn trudged past the two Alicorns without so much as a goodbye and started ascending the stairs off to the left that would take her to the sisters’ private box. Not once did she raise her head as she climbed.

“Even I can tell something is amiss with your friend,” Luna whispered once Sea Swirl was up the stairs and out of sight. “Surely you noticed as well?”

“I did, Luna,” Celestia said. She was fighting the urge to rush up the stairs after her friend and comfort her. While she had seen many ponies in her lifetime act this way, she had only seen it happen to Sea Swirl once before; and it had taken the Unicorn weeks to recover. This time appeared even worse.

“Do you plan to do nothing then?” Luna asked, snapping Celestia out of her worry.

“It depends on the exact situation, dear sister,” the older Alicorn replied. “Which is why I will need your help to discover this. May I count on you?”

“Of course,” Luna replied, puffing her chest out with a smirk. “What do you require of me, sister? Some lost treasure to help your friend’s mood? Or shall I go undercover, in a secret mission to find the ponies who have wrong your friend and teach them the errors of their ways?”

“Nothing that exciting, I’m afraid,” Celestia answered. She chuckled when she saw her sister instantly deflate. Luna was always up for some grand quest or adventure, especially if it meant getting out of what she called drab and tiresome royal duties. “But, I suppose that second remark is…possibly close to my idea.”

Luna’s ears perked up. “Truly?”

“Yes,” Celestia said, and she explained what she wanted her sister to do, stressing that it was all she wanted Luna to do. She smiled slightly when she saw her sister’s disappointment at the assignment, but it was still something exciting for her to do, even if it wasn’t going on some epic quest.

“Very well,” Luna said after she heard Celestia’s plan. “I shall do as you ask. I take it you will still be in our private viewing area with your friend? Is that where I shall make my report?”

“Yes, although I ask that you do not make it so direct in front of Sea Swirl.” Celestia looked up the stairs as she said her friend’s name. “A simple, ‘It is as you say’ will be enough.”




*                              *                              *



 


Princess Luna took a deep breath to steady her nerves. It was rather silly of her, but even after so long being back in Equestria, she still became nervous when she interacted with her regular citizens. Royal meetings, special events, or the rare occasions when she was simply having fun with her sister, she could handle. After all, the first two required her to project an air of confidence and power, and the third one she had her sister with her.

Tis no different than Twilight and her friends, the Alicorn thought as she took another deep breath. Just…act friendly. Encourage random ponies. Make small talk. Celestia does it all the time. I can do it to.

The Princess was back-stage, standing in the shadows so no pony would see her. Thankfully, her silky slip dress was even darker than her actual coat, so it served to hide her even more as her teal eyes scanned the scene before her.

Many ponies were darting about, trying to get in last minute checks for this or that before the celebration of the New Year began. Ponies were being shuffled to specific spots by stage ponies, while stagehoof ponies were doing final checks on lights, pulleys, and other things. She spied a few ponies that seemed to be nearly as lost as she was and decided that they would be where she would start mingling, but just before she was about to step out of the shadows, a Unicorn with a clipboard darted over to them and shooed them to the far side of the stage and out of sight.

Calm down, Luna. You can do this.

Celestia had asked her to handle this situation with grace and subtly, and she was going to do it…as soon as her nerves stopped trying to chew through her teeth.

Luna was not even sure what she was supposed to do, exactly. All her sister had told her was find a certain pony and, without being blunt, find out her mood. Luna was not sure exactly how she was supposed to do it, but when Celestia had told her that it should be as easy as detecting Sea Swirl’s mood, the Princess of the Night had felt a small swell of confidence.

After all, even a filly could tell that Sea Swirl was bothered by something.

“Still, I do not see this pony I am supposed to find,” the Alicorn whispered. She cast her gaze over the crowd once again, but she still could not find a pony that fit the description Celestia had given her. Perhaps she was going to have to simply go out and start talking to ponies after all.

“Hold a moment…” Luna said as she spied a familiar hat. She stared at it for another moment to be certain, and then her butterflies vanished and she stepped from the shadows, startling a nearby pony as she did.

“P-Princess!” the stagehoof said, nearly dropping the prop he was carrying as he jumped back. “I didn’t see you there.”

“It is fine,” Luna replied with a relaxed smile. “We are simply here to check on a few details before we begin. Proceed as you were.”

Without waiting for a reply, she strode confidently to the middle of the stage and stood behind two ponies who were sticking their heads through the curtain. One of them was wearing a beautiful dark royal violet dress that Luna admitted flattered her figure around the hips and flank. It was bareback, allowing full view of her brushed coat beneath, and much to Luna’s surprise, the fabric itself seemed to flow and shimmer, much like Luna’s own mane.

Whoever this pony was, she was clearly somepony with a fair amount of wealth if she could afford such a pleasing outfit.

The same could not be said of the pony standing next to her. She wore a very familiar cloak, and although it showed signs of wear and tear, Luna could tell that it was well taken care of despite its age. In fact, she was fairly certain that it had even been deep cleaned and pressed because the yellow and blue stars seemed brighter than normal in the purple fabric. Even the matching hat, styled after so many wizards, seemed to have an extra sheen to it.

The whole outfit stuck out like a sore hoof in Canterlot, but Luna knew full well that the pony in it did not care. It made her memorable to her crowds, and she had in insisted that that was an important matter.

Luna was about to reach out and tap her apprentice on the shoulder, but before she could, Trixie pulled her head back from the curtain and turned to the pony she was standing next to.

“Trixie understands how you feel,” she said, her eyes closed and here chin raised ever so slightly. “But trust Trixie. Stage fright is nothing that cannot be bested. Even in a crowd such as—ah!” Trixie’s eyes went wide when she finally caught sight of Luna standing behind her.

“Hello, Trixie,” Luna said, smiling as the Unicorn locked up for a moment. Even the blue gem she used to clasp her cloak around her neck had been polished to a mirror shine. She truly was going to put her best hoof forward for this.  “I just wanted to check on you before the show started. Are you well?”

“Um…yes, Princess!” The magician bowed her head too low and too quickly, nearly causing her hat to fall. “I-I was just speaking with this pony.” She gestured toward the pony who still had her back to Luna.

“I see,” Luna said with a smile. Trixie usually had trouble walking up and talking with ponies. Her bravado made her standoffish to most, but Luna knew that under it, Trixie still held an extreme amount of guilt over her past actions in Ponyville, to the point where she didn’t feel like she deserved to talk with others. Seeing her stretch out of that shell was both comforting and inspiring to the Princess.

“I was, um…just trying to give her some…some pointers!” Trixie stammered. “Nicely, of course,” she quickly added.

“Pointers?” Luna asked, although she already knew what the Unicorn meant.

“Yes.” Trixie cleared her throat and straightened her hat once again, and the confident—and many would say arrogant—pony began to appear before Luna’s eyes. “Trixie remembers being in her horseshoes, back when she first started; the stage, all those eyes staring up at you, waiting to judge you on your every move. And those quiet whispers as ponies blow every little mistake you make out of proportion until you feel like you cannot budge from your spot because your hooves have been glued to the floor beneath them.”

“Very kind of your, Trixie,” Luna said, genuinely impressed with her secret apprentice’s show of empathy. She couldn’t help but notice that the pony they were speaking of had yet to turn around though. Her head was still poking through the curtains. Was she truly that frightened?

“Thank you, Princess,” Trixie replied with a smile and a short nod. “But Trixie isn’t sure her heartfelt words are getting through to her. All she has done is stare out at the audience, and Trixie fears that she maybe freeze up and hurt Trixie’s performance, since she goes before Trixie and will be setting the mood.”

There was the mare that most ponies believed Trixie to be.  Luna raised an eyebrow at her.

“And, um…ruin her own chance to shine in front of so many important ponies, of course!” Trixie quickly added, shrinking back just a bit with a weak laugh.

“Of course, Trixie,” Luna said with a knowing look. Trixie was making progress, to be sure, but she still had a little ways to go. “Perhaps you should go double check your preparations one last time. I will see if I can assist this pony.”

“Right away, Princess!” Trixie said. She spun around, her star-patterned cloak swirling around her body in a grand display—Luna would bet good bits that Trixie had practice that so often that she didn’t even realize she did it anymore—and sped off into the shadows behind the stage.

With her apprentice gone, Luna turned her gaze back to the back half of the mare before her. She reached out to tap her on the flank to gain her attention, but stopped as a much better idea sprang into her mind.

Giggling to herself as she imagined the mare’s reaction, Luna carefully walked up behind her and stuck her head through the curtains as well, knowing full well that her head would be just above the mare’s.

“Greetings,” Luna said. “May we ask what thou art doing?”

“Ah!”

The mare jumped, her backside bumping into Luna’s stomach. That caused her to twitch even more, yanking her head back behind the curtains and twisting to the side in an attempt to escape, only to crash into Luna’s foreleg instead. She let out another yelp and then froze.

“Are thou returning?” Luna asked as she tilted her head down to where her companion had been moments before. She had to struggle to keep the mirth from her voice and the grin from her face. “It is rather…lonesome out here by oneself.”

After a few long moments, a head full of deep violet hair slowly poked its way back out from behind the curtain. Luna imagined the sight would be quite comical, if the lights were not dimmed and ponies in the audience could see the two of them.

“Um…” the mare said. She quickly tilted her head for a glance up and Luna caught a single stunning teal eye, perhaps a shade brighter than her own, beneath the beautiful wavy mane before it disappeared again. “G-G-Greetings, Princess Luna.”

“And we greet you, Miss…?”

“Symphony, Your Majesty.”

Luna’s eyes went wide for a moment. What a fortuitous outcome. The very pony her sister had asked her to find, and she had stumbled upon her without any trouble.

Okay, Luna, you can handle this. Tia just wanted you to test the waters, nothing more. Now…how do I do that without being direct about it?

Luna’s mind raced for a few agonizing seconds as she tried to come up with a plan. Her sister was always the more diplomatic of them. Luna preferred the direct approach—“Why have you caused such grief to my sister’s friend?”—but she had the belief that such a question would not be the proper action.

“We saw thee conversing with Trixie a moment ago,” Luna said, trying to buy her mind a bit more time to think of something. She noticed Symphony’s ear twitch for brief second, but that was all. “She claimed thou may be experiencing some stage fright. Is this true?”

Symphony did not answer the Princess’ question, only continued to stare out into the audience. Luna made a face as she looked down at the mare’s head. She was not used to ponies ignoring her so directly. Fearing her, avoiding her, or stammering in her presence as they tried to find any excuse to leave, yes. But simply pretending not to hear her?

Luna raised her head and glanced out at the audience. The showroom was completely filled and she could just make out the outlines of countless ponies sitting in their seats. Their eyes all seemed to sparkle and glow in the dim light, and Luna suddenly felt like she had a deeper understanding of what Trixie had meant about feeling glued to the floor.

“An impressive house, to be sure,” she said as her eyes continued to scan the crowd. “We do not blame thee for feeling nervous.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Symphony said without looking up at her. Luna thought she heard the mare’s voice crack, but she could not be certain over the dull rumble of hushed conversation from the audience, so she looked down at Symphony once again.

Her mane was tied up in an elegant bun on her head, with a braided strand running along its middle. She had allowed her bangs to hang in front of her forehead, showing off the lovely waves that seemed to come naturally to her mane.  The hairstyle matched her dress perfectly, giving her the look and air of a stunning beauty that would no doubt be the eye of many a pony tonight. Her posture was perfect, her neck straight with her back and shoulders as she stared out at the audience. Not a single part of her so much as moved, save for the subtle flow of her dress as she drew breath.

Hold a moment…Luna thought as she stared at Symphony. The yellow Earth pony in the violet dress was not quivering like a mare terrified before an audience. Her head was not turning like a mare frantically gazing out at the countless eyes before her. Her jaw was not working itself as if she were trying to stop herself from screaming and running away.

She was still like a cat preparing to pounce. It was as if she did not see any of eyes staring back at her, and instead was focused on a single spot to the exclusion of all others.

Curious, Luna attempted to follow the mare’s gaze. When she did, she spied a rare sight indeed: a single seat, in the front row, dead center of the stage, was empty. Either side of it was filled with ponies, all of them no doubt having paid a premium to acquire such a location, but the most prized seat in the entire chamber remained empty.

Luna’s mind suddenly returned to her sister’s friend.

“A seat remains unfilled,” Luna said carefully. “Art thou perhaps waiting for somepony?”

That got a reaction.

Symphony stiffened instantly and then quickly yanked her head behind the curtain. Before Luna could do the same, she nearly lost her balance as Symphony almost shoved her way out from under the Princess.

“No,” Symphony said quietly as Luna steadied herself while she pulled her head back. “No, of course not.”

Luna turned and looked at the mare. She was standing by a violin case, her eyes glued to it. Slowly, she reached down and undid the locks, revealing a beautiful hoof-made instrument.

“Lovely,” Luna said. “We take it thou art the one whom shall be regaling us with music on this night?”

“Uh huh,” Symphony said. She gracefully picked up the violin’s bow and stared at it. For a moment, Luna believed what she was doing was simply a task that all musicians did, but then she noticed other signs: a quiver in Symphony’s lips, a gleam from a tear in her eye, a tremble in the hoof that held the bow.

Luna’s heart began to shake. Sea Swirl’s agony from earlier had been obvious, and while Luna did not know the Unicorn on a familiar level, Tia did. And thus, Luna had been fully prepared to do whatever she needed to right the wrong that had been visited upon her friend.

But now she was not so certain that this would be as easy as she had believed.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Luna walked over to Symphony as casually as she could. As she drew closer, her eyes jumped to the strings on the bow. While she could not be certain in the dim light backstage, she thought the strings were the same colors as Sea Swirl’s tail. If that was indeed the case, then Luna was certain she had just pieced this entire mystery together, and it did not make her feel well.

“Thy bow looks impressively well maintained,” she said, trying to see if she could confirm her belief. “Or did thou perhaps purchase a new one for this most grand night?”

Symphony’s eyes went wide for just a moment, then she shook her head as if to shake away clouded thoughts. “No, it is mine. It was just…recently restrung is all.”

“A dazzling assortment of purple hues,” Luna said. She was positive she already knew the answer to her next question, but she wanted this mare to confirm it for her. “Did thou happen to utilize thine own hair for such a task? We have heard that musicians favor such things. In fact, our sister and we once did such a thing for mare long ago.”

“No, it’s not my…” Symphony closed her eyes and held them shut. Her nostrils flared as her teeth clamped down on her lower lip. Luna saw the muscles in her throat flex several times, but otherwise Symphony’s body remained as still as stone.

That was all the proof the Princess of the Night needed. She would need to report this to her sister.

“I apologize for my…distracted state, Your Majesty,” Symphony said as her eyes slowly opened. “But…this is a matter I would rather keep to myself.”

“Of course, dear Symphony,” Luna answered. “We did not mean to pry.” Part of her wanted to wrap the mare in a hug, while another part wanted to drag her back to Tia and force her to confront Sea Swirl. But her sister had told her that all she must do was confirm the mood of the mare, and Luna was certain she had accomplished the task.

“We must take our leave now,” she added. “The show will begin in but a moment or two, and we would not wish to miss any performances.”

Symphony’s head turned back toward the curtain, her eyes seeming to burn through it to look at the empty seat in the front row. “Of…course not, Your Majesty.”

“Thou must remember, if thou art still feeling uneasy upon the stage tonight, simply turn thy gaze toward our sister and we. We shall be watching thou from above, in our royal balcony.” Luna turned, hoping that her suggestion might cause the mare to at least notice that Sea Swirl was with her and her sister up above. “We wish thee luck, dear Symphony.”

“Thank you,” the Earth pony said, but her tone and gaze implied that she had barely heard the Princess’ words.

Conflicted, the Princess of the Night silently slipped through the ponies rushing about backstage and began to make her way back to her sister and the young Unicorn with her.




*                    *                    *



 


 “Surely you can stay for a while longer?” Celestia asked as she tilted her head.

“I’m…I’m really tired, Celestia,” the young Unicorn said. She let out a forced laugh as raised her head. “After all, it’s almost midnight. Not used to staying up this late.”

“That is the point,” Celestia replied. She knew what Sea Swirl was trying to do. She knew that her young friend was trying to escape the party now that the floorshows were over, and truthfully, Celestia couldn’t hold it against her.

Luna had returned and confirmed that Symphony seemed to be troubled as well, though not nearly as bad as Sea Swirl. With that out of the way, the three mares had sat and enjoyed all the performances. Sea Swirl eyes had been glued to Symphony the entire time, tears twinkling as she stared like a statue, but the moment the Earth pony had finished, Sea Swirl had slouched and lost all interest. The moment the lights had come on and ponies had begun to move toward the main hall, Sea Swirl had nearly bolted toward the exit.

Even now, her head was on a swivel, darting around the hallway as her eyes raced across the walls. Every time she spied a pony, terror crossed her face and her breathing froze. She reminded Celestia of a stray kitten caught in a storm.

“I-I really should get going though,” Sea Swirl said. “I have to…um, pack.”

Celestia blinked in surprise. Pack? This was worse than she thought.

“You are leaving?” she asked.

“Yeah. I’m going to head back home for a bit.”

“But you have always stayed here until the end of the first month at least.”

Sea Swirl scratched the back of her neck with her hoof. “Heh, yeah. Thought I’d, um…change things up this time.”

“Why?” Celestia, of course, knew the answer, but she did not want to pry it out of Sea Swirl. She wanted her friend to talk to her willingly, and she was giving her every opportunity to do so as they walked down the hall and away from the party.

“Oh, you know…” Sea Swirl’s gaze drifted behind Celestia and her eyes seemed to glaze over, as if she was looking past the hallway and into the main hall, searching for a certain pony. “I spent a lot more time here than I normally do. Missing my home more because of it.”

With that, the Unicorn spun on her back hooves and started quickly walking down the hall once more, her steps echoing across the walls. By now, most ponies had surely filtered into the main hall. The music would be starting up, the mingling would be growing, and the chefs would have the first wave of courses out for all of the guests. No doubt Luna was struggling to maintain a calm, regal air at this point as dozens of ponies flocked to her in an attempt to curry favor since Celestia was not present. Celestia could see her sister’s strained face in her mind, and it made part of her smile.

But the sight before her kept the happiness from spreading. The sight of a young Unicorn, her two-hue tail dragging across the floor, with her head hung low and her legs struggling to move fast without running, heading in the opposite direction of all the mirth and out into the cold night. Her trembling shoulders and the small hiccups were all the proof Celestia needed to know that she was needed her more than back with Luna.

With a smooth flap of her wings, Celestia closed the gap between her and Sea Swirl. She settled next to the Unicorn and put her wing around her. Sea Swirl went stiff and tried to stop, but the Princess gently pushed her forward with her wing, as if she were guiding a young filly.

“Then I will at least see you to the door.”

“Thanks.”

The two mares walked in silence for a few moments. Sea Swirl’s pace had slowed considerably—almost to the point where it seemed as if she didn’t want to leave—but she was still making her way to the exit, and Celestia made no effort to stop her. She kept her wing around her and hummed softly to herself, but that was all.

“Sorry about that,” came a voice from around the corner. “I know these shindigs are important to you.”

Shindig? Celestia thought to herself. That was a word she was not used to hearing in Canterlot, and especially not in her castle. Not unless Applejack was around, but Celestia was certain that she was back in Ponyville with her friends.

“I told you it’s fine,” came another voice, one that sounded much more at home in Equestria’s capital. “It’s just a little wine.”

“But…your dress. Aren’t ponies all uppity ‘bout—”

Two mares came around the corner ahead and instantly stopped when their eyes fell on Celestia. Without thinking, they both bowed, one of them taking the white cowboy hat off her head as she did.

“Greetings, Your Highness,” said the sky blue one. Her bow was smooth, practiced, and told of her upbringing, but there was also a hint of roughness about it, as if she was out of practice a little.

“Er, um…howdy, Princess,” said the yellow one. Her bow was rough, too low and too deep, causing her lovely blue mane to touch the floor and her to forelegs tremble a little as too much weight was put on them. The rare honest sight warmed Celestia’s heart.

“Good evening, ladies,” Celestia said in turn, nodding slightly to them both. She couldn’t help but notice that Sea Swirl had gone stiff again and seemed to be trying to bury herself in Celestia’s wing. “May I ask why you two are out here, rather than in the main hall?”

“Oh!” The yellow mare’s head shot up and she placed her hat back on her head without a thought. “That was my fault. I sort of slipped and spilled some…” The mare’s sentence drifted off as she looked at the pony hiding next to Celestia.

The sky blue mare started to speak. “Fiddlesticks is not used to these kinds of—”

“Shindigs?” Celestia offered with a smile, and both mares blushed.

“Yes, Your Highness,” the other mare continued. “She bumped me and I spilled some wine on my dress.” The blue mare looked down at her white and blue dress, indicating a stain on her sleeve. “We were trying to wash it out.”

“I see,” Celestia said. With a smile, she channeled her magic into her horn and focused on the stain. A moment later, the mare’s dress glowed and the stain, along with the dampness from the washing, vanished from the dress.

“Thank you,” the mare said as she stared at her renewed outfit.

“But of course,” Celestia said as she stared closer at the mare. “Would you like me to remove the one around you collar as well?”

The blue mare’s face went purple and she instantly tried to scrunch her neck in while pulling her dress’ collar up further. Apparently washing hadn’t been the only thing these two mares had been doing in the washroom.

“Sea Swirl!” the yellow mare—Fiddlesticks, if Celestia understood correctly—said loudly. “Did you see her? Wasn’t she great? I knew she was good, but wow! I wish I could play that well.”

Celestia felt Sea Swirl wince with every word.

“You play beautifully, Fiddlesticks,” the other mare said, a hint of annoyance seeping into her voice. “Your music is just different. That mare wishes she could play as fast as you.”

“Don’t be silly, B.B.,” Fiddlesticks said as she waved away the comment. “That was some great, deep feeling stuff out there. So powerful, so emotional.” Fiddlesticks sighed and leaned against B.B. without a care in the world. “I’m so glad we got you to return her violin.”

“I…won’t deny that she has talent,” B.B. said, looking at the floor while her cheeks changed color for a moment. “She could stand to be less of a—”

“B.B., be nice.”

“Hmph. You know it’s—woah!”

Without a word, Sea Swirl broke from Celestia’s side and dashed down the hallway, nearly knocking over the two mares. Her stomping hooves echoed all around, nearly downing out the soft sniffles that barely reached Celestia’s ears.

“Sea Swirl?” Fiddlesticks called as she raised her hoof after her, then she rounded on the other mare. “Beauty Brass!”

“I didn’t actually say anything…” the mare responded, avoiding the glaring blue eyes of Fiddlesticks.

“You know they’re friends though!”

Beauty Brass sighed and hung her head. “I know. I’m sorry. I just…I just get so mad when I think about how she treated you.”

“And how many times do I hav’ to tell ya that I—”

“I am afraid Miss Sea Swirl has had a rough couple of days,” Celestia said, stepping into the conversation before it grew too heated. She was already witness to one heartbreak tonight. She did not wish to see another one play out before her eyes.

“Oh no,” Fiddlesticks said, all the anger vanishing from her voice. “What happened?”

“I am unsure,” Celestia lied. “But I must excuse myself to go after her.”

“We’ll come with you!” Fiddlesticks said, reaching out and pulling Beauty Brass with her.

“No,” Celestia said instantly. It wasn’t that she doubted Fiddlesticks’ sincerity, but rather her tactfulness. She believed that the mare might end up being too direct, doing more harm than good. “You two should hurry back to the party. It is nearly midnight, and I would hate for you to miss the Midnight Kiss.”

“But—”

“It appears you have both been practicing already,” the Princess said with a wink, causing both mares to blush and turn their heads. Using their embarrassment as cover, she gave a quick nodded and bolted after the Unicorn.

Sea Swirl was already gone from sight, vanishing around the far corner in the hallway. Celestia knew she could catch up to her in a moment. She could go into a full sprint, easily closing the distance with her long legs. Or she could open her wings and take off, sailing through the air and catching Sea Swirl before she even made it out of the castle. Or she could simply use her magic and teleport right in front of the Unicorn, likely causing her to skid into the Princess as she struggled to stop.

But Celestia felt that simply running after her friend was the right thing to do.  Sea Swirl needed a friend right now, not an all-powerful ruler.

The Alicorn turned the corner in the hallway, her hooves skidding slightly on the plush red rug that ran the entire length, and just managed to see the hint of a violet tail disappearing out the exit as two of Luna’s guards stared in confusion. One of them was about to follow, but then they both saw Celestia galloping toward them and snapped to attention.

“Should we stop her, ma’am?” one of them asked.

“Not necessary,” the Princess replied as she ran up. She used her magic to open the door and the two ponies remained at attention as she dashed past them and into the cold night air.

She had expected to have to keep running. She had believed that she would end up following Sea Swirl all the way back to her Canterlot house, where she would no doubt have to ask to be let in from the cold as the Unicorn sat alone in the dark. She had been fully prepared for the jog through the city, even if the night air was already biting into her body.

So the Princess of the Sun was surprised when she found Sea Swirl just a few steps away, looking utterly defeated. Her head was hung low and her ears drooped even lower than before. Her tail lay flat on the ground, not even swishing as it hung from her body. Her body was shaking as she gasped for breath, and every few seconds she raised her foreleg to rub her face before letting it fall back to the ground. Her shoulders shook as little whimpers and sobs escaped her mouth between gasps.

“Sea Swirl…” Celestia whispered as she walked up behind her young friend.

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” the mare said without turning around. Instead, she flopped down on her flank and just stared straight ahead. “I knew it wasn’t going to work. Of course it wasn’t going to work.”

Celestia said nothing as she walked forward and sat down next to her friend. She didn’t turn to look at her, nor did she put her wing around her. She simply stared straight ahead and waited.

“We’re nothing alike,” the Unicorn continued after several heavy breaths and sobs. “I don’t know the first thing about music. I can’t dance, I don’t fit in to Canterlot’s crowd, I’m not…She’s all about grace, elegance, and upstanding lifestyles. I just like to goof off in water and dig in the mud…”

Celestia turned her head to see tears freely flowing down Sea Swirl’s face. She wasn’t even trying to rub them away anymore. Carefully, she reached out and wrapped her wing around her, pulling her closer.

“Did you know I didn’t even ask her what her last name was?” she continued, her cheek now pressed against Celestia’s foreleg. “Who does that? I knew nothing about her. Didn’t know her name, didn’t know her who her parents were. I don’t know her favorite food, or what she likes to do besides playing music. I don’t even know her favorite color! I mean, I think it’s purple, because she’s always choosing things like that, but for all I know it’s because it matches her mane! I don’t know anything about her, and I never even tried! No wonder she wants nothing to do with me…”

“Sea Swirl, that is—”

“I was just…” She sobbed again, her breaths coming in choked rasps as her throat contracted, “just so happy to finally have somepony with me. I was so tired of being alone, of having no pony notice me…”

Celestia held the Unicorn closer as her own heart started to break. She knew this troubled Sea Swirl constantly. The mare was a free spirit through and through, constantly traveling across Equestria. It gave her many great experiences, but at the same time, she had told Celestia on many occasions that it made for many lonely days and nights. She wanted to help her, wanted to tell her that she was there for her, but she knew that wouldn’t help.

Sea Swirl was talking about a void that Celestia, with all her royal duties and an entire kingdom to watch over, could never hope to truly fill. Yes, she cared about Sea Swirl and considered her one of her true friends, but she knew she could never truly be there for her, and that made a tear roll down her cheek.

“She…she said…” Sea Swirl stammered. She reached out and wrapped her forelegs around Celestia and buried her face in her dress. “She said I used her! And she’s right!”

Celestia’s purple eyes blinked at the shocking statement. “That is not true.” She knew Sea Swirl too well. The mare was kind to a fault, to the point where there were always whispers of how she must be the daughter of a wealthy family or somepony’s plaything, because there was no way she should be as well off as she was with how generous she ran her business.

“But it is!” Sea Swirl shouted back, her face pulling away so she could look up in all her agony at Celestia. “I didn’t really care about her. I just cared about having a pony with me! I never asked questions, I didn’t show any interest in her as a pony, I didn’t try to get to know her! All I did…all I wanted…all I wanted was somepony to…to…to” she swallowed, her eyes quivering as she looked up, “to buck…”

The dam broke then. More tears sprang from the pair of red eyes gazing up at Celestia. Mucus began to leak from her nose and her mouth opened as heartbreaking sounds came from deep inside the young mare. She buried her face once again in Celestia’s dress, clinging to her like a filly to her mother, her body shaking as every muscle in her tensed, shook, and relaxed over and over.

The ruler of Equestria sat in silence, her heart breaking for her friend as she kept her wing around her and stroked her mane and neck. She wanted to say something, wanted to tell Sea Swirl that the things she had said were not true, and that any pony would be lucky to have her, but she knew none of those words would comfort her friend now. All she could do was be a support for her, and that was what she planned to do as they sat in the night together.  She had learned that sometimes, the only way to help was to sit in silence and let the pain bleed itself out.

After a while, Sea Swirl’s wails slowly faded to low whimpers, and her hold on Celestia’s body loosened. Celestia did not move, still cradling and soothing the Unicorn, until the mare pulled her head away and rubbed her eyes with her hoof.

“I’m…going to go home,” Sea Swirl whispered finally. She refused to look up at Celestia, but that did not stop the Princess from looking down at her.

“Are you certain?” she asked. “I would feel better if you slept here tonight, to at least calm down.”

“Thanks,” Sea Swirl whispered. She stood up and gently, but firmly, pushed her way out of Celestia’s embrace and started to slowly walk away. “But…I’ll be fine. Would you take care of things here?”

“Of course,” Celestia answered, knowing what the Unicorn meant by the request. “But you must promise me that you will be safe.”

“Sure,” came the small voice as the Unicorn continued to walk away, her head hung low and never once looking back. Her steps were slow and unsure as she began to fade into the darkness. “You…better get back in there. It’s almost midnight.”

Celestia knew her friend was right. No doubt ponies were starting to wonder where she was, and Luna was most likely chewing her mane out at this point. As a leader of Equestria, her presence was required for the stroke of midnight, to help usher in the New Year. It simply would not do for her to be absent for the crowning moment of tonight’s celebration.

How many times have my duties called me away from important matters?

Celestia sighed as she watched her friend disappear into the Canterlot night. She waited another few minutes, still looking in the direction of the Unicorn, before she raised her hoof to her mouth.

“Luna says to put my lips here and…” She took a deep breath and blew, but instead of the barely audible whistle she wanted, a raspberry escaped her mouth and her hoof was covered in spit. She spat and pulled her hoof away, shaking it to clean it off and licking her lips, before she tried again, with the same results.

She tried three more times before the frustration began to set in. “How does she do that?” she wondered out loud as she stared at her hoof, her white coat around her ankle starting to matt from her failed attempts.

It was then that a faint noise caught her ear. Curious, she cocked her head and turned her ear upward. After a moment, she sighed and closed her eyes in exhaustion.

“She sent you to find me, didn’t she?” the Princess asked. The muffled giggling instantly stopped. “How long have you been there?”

“Not long at all, Your Highness,” came a voice from somewhere in the shadows on the roof above her.  Celestia turned around and rose to her full height, staring up to where she thought the voice originated from. Sure enough, after a moment she saw what looked like a living shadow dance across the palace’s building.

A moment later, a Bat pony was silently landing in front of her. Her yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dark, and the moonlight reflected off of her fangs in a way that no doubt unnerved other ponies, but Celestia knew the mare before her was not a threat. She was, after all, a member of the Royal Guard, and judging by her uniform, she was also one of the Threstrals assigned to Luna’s own private Royal Guard.

“Good even—”

“We certainly did not sit on the roof and watch you try to do your sister’s special whistle for us for a minute or two.”

Celestia jumped and let out a small yelp as another voice came from behind her. She whipped around on reflex to find the exact same pony staring back at her, a wide grin on her face as her eyes rolled up to look at the night sky.

Celestia took a moment to compose herself. Any other pony—save maybe Luna and other Threstrals—might think they were seeing double, or that this mare was playing a trick, but Celestia knew full well whom she was dealing with now.

“Ice Tail,” she said, trying to get her voice back under control.

“Actually, I’m Comet,” the mare replied, her grin widening.

“And I’m Ice,” the first mare said.

Celestia knew these two mares. They were indeed amongst the few ponies that were part of Luna’s special group, and they took after Luna when it came to mischief. Luna called them the Twins, for that was what they were, and they took great joy in confusing and playing pranks on others. Luna could somehow tell them apart, but Celestia had never been able to.

“I’m afraid I must ask you two for a favor,” the Princess said as Ice Tail walked around to stand next to her twin sister. They both cocked their heads to the side ever so slightly, their dark manes falling identically to block their left eyes. “I apologize for taking you away from the party.”

“It is our duty,” they both said at the same time, offering the same smile and a quick salute.

“You want us to follow that Unicorn?” Ice Tail—at least Celestia believed it was Ice Tail—asked as her ears twitched.

“How long were you…?” Celestia started to ask, but the two ponies closed their eyes and grinned up at her, offering nothing but innocent smiles. She shook her head and blinked away her surprise. “One of you, yes. Simply make sure that she remains safe until she leaves. I do not think she will do anything, but…”

“A broken heart leads to some bad decisions sometimes,” Comet Tail said.

“Don’t worry, sis. You have me!” Ice Tail turned her head and gave her sister a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t I know it,” Comet Tail replied with an eye roll and a return cheek kiss. Her wings then flew open, and with a silent takeoff and a small gust, the mare shot into the night sky and quickly vanished from Celestia’s sight.

“Miss Ice Ta—”

“I’m actually Comet, Your Majesty,” the mare said with an innocent but knowing smile.

Celestia growled, but couldn’t help the smile that came to her face. “Miss Tail.”

“Oh, that’s good,” the mare said with a wink.

“I have another task for you. If your sister comes back, she may join you.”

“What are my orders?”

“I need you to watch over another pony tonight.”

“It will be done, Princess.”

“And again, I must apologize to you and your sister for putting you on duty tonight.”

Ice Tail—Celestia was certain it was indeed her, despite what she had claimed—opened her mouth to say something, but then she froze. A smirk came to her face a moment later, and Celestia suddenly saw the vision of her younger sister in the mare’s attitude.

“If you really want to make it up to us, I can think of something. And it fits perfectly with tonight’s celebration.”

Celestia swallowed, but she knew that these two mares knew where to draw the line. Whatever they had planned, it would not be something unreasonable. Knowing that, she nodded once. “Of course.”
“Great!” Ice Tails wings fluttered and she hovered off the ground for a moment before landing silently again, a skill that not even Celestia had managed to master. “Let’s get back inside then and you can point out this mark you want me to keep an eye on."