"Yeah! And there were these things called air conditioners that cooled the air and blew it at you! Ooh, it was so nice! I mean we just use ice magic, but it was so neat to see how humans deal with hot weather! Oh, and then-"

"Hold on now, girl. Be sure to take a few breaths in between!" Applejack cut her off so that Twilight wouldn't pass out.

"Heheh. Well, Twilight sure does love to talk!" Rainbow Dash was flying upside down playfully around Twilight while teasing her.

"Ooh ooh! I love to talk too! I can talk all day! I've just been suppressing my urge to talk since Twilight was talking and she was talking about something wayyyy cooler! But if you really really really want me to, I can start talking to and-"

Rarity put a hoof over her mouth quickly. "That's just fine, Pinkie dear. Let's let Twilight finish her story first."

"Fine" Pinkie said in a mock accent. Rarity, as well as a couple other members of the Mane Six, took a deep breath of relief.

"As I was saying... We got all sorts of presents for you girls and I think you're all going to love them. There were some things we got that I have no clue about, so hopefully Alex will tell us about them on..." She tried to remember the name. "Oh, Christmas!"

"Christmas? What's that?" Fluttershy's low volume was a bit easier to hear in the quiet night where there were no distracting noises.

"From how Alex described it, it's a lot like Hearth's Warming Eve, but a little different..." Twilight chuckled under her breath when she was reminded of all the goofy things Alex said about the holiday. It didn't make much sense with all the stuff about Santa Claus. But she was sure that, to Alex, the details behind Hearth's Warming Eve sounded just as silly.

"So yer saying we'll have two Hearth's Warming Eves this year?!"

"It's called Chrismas, Applejack..." Twilight corrected her but not in a rude way.

"Oh my... Celebrating a foreign holiday sure does sound exciting. I just hope it isn't too loud or boisterous..." Fluttershy's eyes stared at the ground while she went over worst case scenarios for the huge parties that Pinkie Pie always came up with. She had a slight look of worry on her face.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. It's only going to be us six and Alex's friends. It won't get out of hand."

Fluttershy picked her head up and smiled. "Oh. That's good. I like small parties..."

"So what kind of things do you do for... Chrismas, Twilight?" Rarity said as she was already thinking about making outfits to match the occasion.

"Well, for one, they-"

Twilight cut herself off and came to a halt in the middle of the road. Her heart started racing from the sudden sight of Vinyl sitting on a bench in front of where they were walking. She knew that Alex probably wouldn't have told her about what happened so soon after getting back, but she still felt an odd sense of guilt when she saw her. It was like the feeling of getting caught cheating on a test, which wasn't a feeling Twilight was familiar with. However, the sensation of fear and anxiety felt exactly how Twilight would've guessed. It seemed like Vinyl was becoming more and more ubiquitous ever since Alex came into the picture.

Twilight backed up behind her other five friends and gestured to them that she didn't want to be seen. They all gave her weird looks, but went along with the act.

"Well howdy there, Vinyl. Whatcha doin out here in tha' cold all by yer' lonesome?" Applejack approached the bench and looked down at her. She couldn't see her eyes since her long bangs on her mane blocked them from view when looking down at her.

"Oh... Hey." She replied after an awkward moment of silence. She tried her best not to look up so that her tears couldn't be seen.

"Are you alright, dear? Certainly somepony doesn't sit out here in the cold for no reason?" Rarity stepped forward a little.

"I'm fine. Just... Getting some fresh air. That's all." Vinyl said in a low monotonic voice.

"Oh come, now. I know a troubled mare when I see one. What's on your mind, Vinyl darling?"

Vinyl sighed and brushed a part of her mane aside. It wasn't intentional, but it gave Applejack and Rarity a glimpse of her pink eyes and damp cheeks.

"It's nothing, alright? I'm fine." She said before sniffing. "It's just... Me and Alex are kinda going through a rough time right now."

Vinyl herself was surprised that she was able to get that last part out, even though it wasn't a specific explanation. When everypony in the group heard, they all fell silent and gave each other looks that said "Oh... Maybe we should just leave her alone." Twilight was almost an entire six feet behind the other five and hiding in a nearby bush.

Even Pinkie Pie didn't try to cheer her up, which was saying something. It was probably because of her limited knowledge on relationships between a colt and a mare. One thing she did know about that sort of ordeal was things could become extremely volatile at the slightest provocation.

"Well, okay then. We'll leave ya' be. Let us know if you need anything, sugarcube." Applejack fixed her cowboy hat a little and backed off respectfully.

"And I do hope your... problem... Gets sorted out!" Rarity smiled nervously and turned back to the group as well.

"Thanks. Seeyah." Vinyl's voice could barely be heard from how low and deflated it was.

"Geez... What was that about?" Rainbow Dash whispered after they had walked away a few yards out of earshot.

"I don't know... But I really hope that Vinyl Scratch will be okay... I heard that relationships troubles can be very complicated." Fluttershy said with concern in her eyes as she looked back at Vinyl.

"More importantly, why were you hiding from her, Twilight? I thought you out of all ponies would want to help!" Rarity complained a little, but it was justified.

"It's a.... Um... Long story." Twilight said with an innocent smile and a tiny *squee*.

Rarity gasped. "You're not implying that..."

Twilight blushed and didn't answer as they walked towards her tree house.

Pinkie Pie let out a gasp as well, albeit it was one filled with more excitement than concern.

"Omigoshomigoshomigosh did you BUCK ALEX?! Was it fun? Did it feel good? What did he do? Ooh! What did you do?!"

"Pinkie Pie! Shhh!" Twilight lowered her head and held a hoof to her mouth. Vinyl was plenty far away by now, but a yell from Pinkie Pie was not to be underestimated.

"Twilight! Ah can't believe you!" Applejack came to a stop, causing everypony else to do the same and look back at her. She put on a stern look. "Out of all mares..."

Twilight sighed in defeat. "I know. I feel awful for it. I really do. It's just... It's really hard... For a Princess..." She fidgeted and blushed some more as she dug her hoof into the soil beneath her.

"Ah understand where yer' comin' from, but still. Ya' can't just go bucking around with everypony's special somepony!"

"Yea, Twi, that's totally uncool." Rainbow dash folded her front hooves and hovered in the air steadily.

"I know!" Twilight said in a slightly louder tone. It reminded her of how she explained it to Alex before they... She wiped the thought from her mind and continued. She resumed walking in an effort to deal with her frustration. Her pace was a little quicker this time and it was more difficult for the others to keep up with her fast trotting.

"It's not very easy being a Princess and... I just need somepony who can take care of me like Alex takes care of Vinyl! But... With me being a figurehead for Equestria and all, it's nearly impossible..." She was extremely embarrassed to come out with something like this to her best friends, but it was the fact that they were her best friends that helped her find the courage.

Nopony really knew what to say at first. After all, Twilight's dilemma was quite a tough one. In the past, everypony besides her (with the possible exception of Fluttershy) found it relatively easy to find a colt to mess around with. Even though they were too ashamed to admit it, they knew.

"Again, I know where yer' comin' from..." Applejack looked down at the ground to try and find the right words to say. "But either way, ya' need to find a way to fix yer' problems without getting in the way of pony's relationships..."

It didn't take much time before they reached Twilight's house, which was just the way she left it. All of the lights were on and upon a careful listen, she could hear Spike rustling about in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, girls..." She paused outside her front door and turned to them. "I know this may hurt the way all of you think of me..."

"Don't be silly, Twilight! You'll always be our most cherished friend!" Rarity went up and hugged her briefly to comfort her. Everypony else around her smiled and nodded their heads as Rarity continued.

"All of us make mistakes from time to time."

"Yeah! Like yesterday, I saw Applejack cheat at checkers!" Pinkie blurted out suddenly.

Applejack turned to her quickly. "Hey! That was a fair move! Ah' ain't no cheater!"

Pinkie's outburst helped lighten the situation and everypony laughed heartily. From the red hue on Applejack's cheeks, it was apparent that Pinkie Pie was right about the cheating.

"Anyway, I really need to hit the hay. That day with Alex sure was eventful!"

Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, the only three who apparently got the innuendo, gave her a stern look.

She let out a frustrated exhale. "You know what I meant!" However, after seeing their smiles shortly after, Twilight could tell that they were just teasing.

"Goodnight, girls. I'll see you all tomorrow."

"'Kay then! Seeyah, Twi!" Pinkie turned around with the others and waved a hoof.

Twilight closed her eyes and leaned against her front door for a few seconds.

"Geez... And I still have all those books to go through about Alex's magic..." Twilight said to herself. It wasn't normal for her to not look forward to reading, but after such a long day, she just didn't have the energy.

"I hope Spike has a fire going... Brrr..." Her body shook a bit from the icy air.

She opened her eyes to reach for the door knob, but instead, she found Rainbow Dash still standing beside her just as she was earlier. It startled her a bit and she backed up a foot or two.

"O-oh... Rainbow! I didn't see you there! Is there... Something you need help with?"

The expression on Rainbow's face was confusing. "Well, about that problem you were talking about earlier..." She flipped her tail around nervously and avoided eye contact with Twilight.

"Yes?" Twilight didn't care much for talking about it any more, but since it was her best friend, she let her minor frustration slide.

"Well... I think I might be able to help with that..." Her cheeks reddened and a tiny smile appeared on her face.

The house was spotless. You had asked Octavia to inspect it for you and even she, a mare who had a keen eye for cleanliness, couldn't find a single dust bunny or window smudge anywhere. Even though her compliments and praises, it didn't help alleviate your overwhelming feeling of guilt and emptiness.

For what seemed like hours, you had been laying down on the couch on your back with your eyes fixated on the ceiling fan slowly going in circles. Your eyes were going around and around trying to lazily follow one single blade of the fan. Finally, after getting a little dizzy and being sick of the awful feeling in your stomach, you sat up and groaned.

"That's it. I'm going to look for her."

"What?" Octavia put her book down and looked up. "Alex, I realize you care for her, but it's best if..."

"No. I don't care. I fucked up our relationship and now I need to go fix it." You got up from the couch and quickly threw a scarf on before you had a chance to change your mind.

Octavia let out a sigh. It was either from her not wanting to argue anymore or because she realized that you were right. Either way, it became apparent that she had no desire to stop you.

"Well, good luck I suppose."

You readied yourself and stepped out into the cold. The second the door flew open, a shiver went down your spine. The scarf didn't help too much, but it was enough. It wasn't until after you closed the door behind you that you started to wonder where she could have been. She could have been at her normal bar hangout, one of her friends' houses, or she could've been simply wandering about. It didn't matter, though. You were prepared to freeze to death in the cold trying to look for her.

Your hooves made a thick *clop* sound against the cobblestone as you made your way out onto the road.

"Better check to see if she's not freezing her ass off outside first." You mumbled under your breath. "Dammit, Alex..."

You figured that trotting at a faster pace would knock out two birds with one stone since you would possibly find her faster and warm up your body at the same time. Left was the most reasonable direction to go since it led to Twilight's tree house and a large expanse of empty meadow where she could likely be. You looked around left and right on your way just to be sure, but there was no sign of her. You groaned and picked up your pace to a power walk. The motion in your legs was slowly helping warm up your body. In addition, the nervousness in your stomach did its job by distracting you from the cold air.

"Vinyl!!!" You called out, not expecting anything.

No response. You kept trotting along the road, but your yell ended up attracting the attention of Cloudchaser who was apparently flying above you somewhere.

"Hey!"

You looked around immediately and stopped in your tracks. There was a silver lining of hope in the back of your mind even though you realized that it wasn't Vinyl's voice.

"Up here, silly!" Cloudchaser descended and giggled a little.

Remembering that she was one of Vinyl's roadies, you instantly pushed past the small talk.

"Cloudchaser! Thank god! Have you seen Vinyl anywhere?!" You asked frantically.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down there, buddy." She came down to the ground, making a tiny *clop* as her hooves hit the road. "Vinyl?" She looked up and rubbed her chin. "Nah, haven't seen her recently. Why, what's up?"

"Dammit. Sorry, no time to explain! Thanks!" You took off running past her, anxious to find your marefriend.

Cloudchaser stood there for a few seconds giving you a bemused look with her eyebrows raised. "Y-you're welcome... I guess?"

You barely heard what she said, but it didn't matter. You could already see the end of the line of houses that lie on either side of the road. Twilight's tree house was in the distance, but you decided to turn right after the houses and cross over into the vast field.

"Vinyl!!!"

Vinyl's ears perked up. She couldn't understand every part of what she heard, but she was certain of who it came from. At first, she mistakenly remained silent once she saw you running through the open field. Everything inside her wanted you to come, but something was making her want to see you just keep going past her. She wasn't sure what it was, but as she closed her eyes firmly, she tried her best to shake the feeling off.

"Over here, you idiot!"

You immediately changed course and followed where the voice came from. You were already out of breath from running, but you didn't care. The one thing you needed to do was to at least see her face one more time since you weren't sure whether or not she would forgive you. The pace in your legs slowed to a steady trot as you caught your breath. The distance between the two of you was a bit far, but the strong moonlight was enough to make her white fur glow so that you could see her clearly.

She didn't speak another word until you were well within normal speaking range. You couldn't completely make out her facial expression, but if you had to guess, it was either anger or sadness. The dense guilt inside you almost kept you from looking straight into her eyes. Though, you had to be sincere when addressing her, especially now.

"What the hell do you want?" As you got closer, you could see her lips quivering a bit. It only made you feel worse.

"To make sure you weren't-" You panted a bit which cut you off mid-sentence. "freezing your ass off!"

She stood there for a few seconds while looking at you. You thought she would respond, but after a prolonged silence, you decided to speak again.

"Look..." You panted some more and then took a deep breath in hopes that it would cause it to stop. "I know you're mad at me and I can understand why."

"No shit." She responded sharply. It threw you off a little, but you kept going.

"I won't make any excuses for what I did. I hurt you terribly and this is honestly the worst guilt I've ever felt in my life."

Vinyl Scratch stood there and gave you a stern look, but if you didn't know any better, you could tell that it was softening a little. You didn't know why, but you paid it no mind.

"I didn't do it because I liked her more. You know you're the only mare I love." You were still panting despite your long breath earlier. It seemed like even after a few months in your pony body, you still hadn't conditioned it as much as you should have.

Still, she stood there silent. You were starting to get annoyed from her lack of communication.

"I promise on my life nothing like that will ever happen again. I've done so much for you and I couldn't live with myself if I saw you go over this..."

You were trying to make the words you said sound sincere despite your heart racing.

After a few more seconds, Vinyl finally spoke up.

"It's too late for promises, Alex." It sounded like she said it with a cold tone, but you had no clue what she was really feeling inside.

"I know, I know... Just..." You took another deep breath and felt the cold air burn the inside of your throat as you tried to think of what you should say.

"Alex... I know this is cliche, but... I thought what we had was special..." Vinyl lowered her eyes and turned sideways. You feared that it was because she was about to walk away.

"It was special! N-no, it is special! I wanted to give so much to you because I knew, even before I came here, that I wanted to be there for you when you needed me... I-I wanted to be that person who you trusted most... I know I fucked that up, I know I did. I made a mistake because I let my generosity go too far."

Vinyl kept standing there, speechless and motionless as she stared at the grass underneath her hooves.

"I know it's asking a lot... But if we can work past this, I promise I won't do anything like that again. Please... If you could feel the guilt in my gut, you would understand..."

For a moment, she seemed as if she was contemplating something. You stood there looking at her and waiting to see any sort of reaction from her.

She turned away towards the empty expanse of grass. Everything past that point seemed to go in slow motion as you slowly realized what was being implied. Your eyes widened and your heart sank as you watched her slowly walk away silently. Every crunch of damp grass beneath her hooves rang in your ear and haunted you to your very core. It was obvious that she couldn't trust you anymore and you couldn't really blame her. You grit your teeth hard and cursed yourself profusely, trying to think of what to say that was different than what you already told her.

You let out an exhale and tried to cope with the inevitable. You weren't really thinking that she would accept your apology, so it didn't come as a great surprise to see her turn her back to you. Everything that you did with her up to this point flashed in your mind all at once, and you began shedding tears once you vividly remembered the first night you spent with her. It was very similar to the night you were both in right now. You remembered the two of you laying down under the stars after a long party and sharing each others' life stories. It seemed like a dream come true back then, but now, it seemed like the dream was turning into a sad and painful nightmare.

She was about ten to fifteen feet away from you when a sudden surge of mournful anger flowed inside you. Perhaps it was a bit risky to let your raw emotions out so hastily, but you had to do something. The sight of her turning her back from you and walking into a life without you was too painful for you to just stand there quietly.

"God dammit, Vinyl! Don't you remember why I wanted to stay here in the first place?!"

You didn't expect it to change her mind at all. In fact, you realized how stupid it was to act angry when you were the one at fault. Your head dropped and you stared at the soil beneath you in defeat once you used the last card in your hand. It was all you had, but it was sincere and it was your last hope of possibly changing her mind.

You were too afraid to look up and see her continuing to walk away from you, but you looked anyway. Tears were matting down the fur on your cheeks to a great extent and they were even starting to drip off your face.

She had stopped. Even though you weren't sure why, she had stopped walking away and you praised all the princesses that she did nonetheless. It took her a few moments to turn around again, but the emotion on her face was completely different than it was before. Not wanting to let the opportunity go, you kept going.

"If I came here and I didn't meet you... If I didn't do all the things I did with you... I would've gone right the fuck back home!" You weren't really angry. Moreover, you were simply passionate about wanting to get your point across.

"Even if it was with some other pony, Twilight, or anypony else, it wouldn't have mattered. If it wasn't with you, I would've gone home and I wouldn't still be here right now! Don't you get it?! You're the only reason I stayed here in the first place! I know I already said this, but I know what I did was stupid... But what we have is special... Because it made me realize that I would rather abandon my life back at home to spend the rest of my life here with you..."

You sighed. The emotion that was bottled up inside you was being let out and it was becoming apparent to her because of the overwhelming sadness in your voice.

"So please... I'm begging you... Please don't take away the only reason I chose to stay here... I love you. More than anything. More than anypony..." You were nearly sobbing while trying to get the words out.

You closed your eyes in grief and bit your lip as hard as you can, trying not to break down in tears pitifully. Right when you were about to drop to the ground and let it all out, you heard a fast crunching of grass coming towards you quickly. You didn't have time to even look up before Vinyl embraced you with open arms and caused you to fall on your back onto the wet cold ground.

Despite the chilliness in the air, the warmth of Vinyl's body provided a warmth that you had never felt before. It was a warmth that every fiber of your body needed desperately which made it that much more welcome. Every ounce of emotion you had left inside you was released at that very moment. You dug your face into Vinyl's fur and let it all out, trying to muffle your mouth as much as you could to suppress the crying. Despite all that, you managed to form some words.

"I'm so sorry..." You grit your teeth again as you hugged her close, even though her grasp on you was even tighter. She was sobbing into your ear loud enough for it to hurt, but you were too emotionally stressed to let it bother you.

The steady glow of the fire coals were the only light in the room besides Octavia's oil lamp. After a bit of resourceful thinking, she managed to light a fire with it. Even though she managed to burn herself slightly while trying to do it, the warmth that it gave her was well worth the minor pain.

Although, that was an hour ago. Due to the coziness of the fire, she was able to drift off to sleep rather quickly despite her interest in the book she was reading. Her belly enlarged a tiny bit and then retracted gently and peacefully in her rest as her head rested on the arm of her favorite chair.

The deadbolt of the front door slowly lifted with a *click*, but it wasn't enough to wake her. As you opened the door for Vinyl, the instant radiant heat hit you and comforted you after the whole ordeal you just went through. It was almost as blissful as the warmth of her hug earlier, but there was no mistaking that you preferred her over any warm flame.

Vinyl walked in slowly. The both of you had no more tears left to cry and their absence was replaced by a strong fatigue that made you want to simply fall on the couch and pass out. The atmosphere between you and your marefriend was a bit awkward, if not on thin ice, so you chose not to speak anything that didn't need to be spoken. You closed the door behind you and made sure it was locked before taking a long breath and relaxing your muscles.

"I'm gonna take a shower." Vinyl finally spoke. The journey back was a bit silent until this point.

"Alright."

You desperately needed a hot shower as well, but the only other alternative was to use Octavia's bathroom. Even though you knew you wouldn't hear the end of it once she woke up, you decided to go past her wishes and head straight there. You didn't even notice that she was asleep on her armchair since she was a quiet sleeper and nothing you did thus far managed to wake her.

In the few months that you lived in that house, you had only seen the inside of her bathroom once. However, you knew just where it was. You walked down the dark hallway and, after hearing Vinyl close the door to her room, you turned to your right and twisted the doorknob to Octavia's bathroom. You thanked Luna when you found that it was unlocked.

To say that was neat and organized would've been an understatement. Everything was in its rightful place. Even the floss on her bathroom counter lay neatly and symmetrically next to her toothbrush. Not wanting to take too long, since you were already running the risk of being found out in her bathroom, you quickly climbed into her shower and turned on the hot water.

Even though the freshness and softness of your recently washed fur felt great and even though there seemed to be resolution with Vinyl, your gut still had the same empty feeling as before. You stepped out of Octavia's bathroom and let out a long breath that seemed to be holding itself inside you for the last hour.

Your first instinct was to go straight to Vinyl's bed, but after what happened that night, you felt as if she needed her space. You stood in the hallway for a few moments trying to think of what to do. Obviously going into Octavia's bed wasn't an option even if she had already fallen asleep on the armchair. Sleeping on the couch seemed like the best bet. However, something inside you wanted to see Vinyl one last time before you called it a night. There was still so much inside your mind that was unsaid.

You walked down to the next door on the left and knocked on her door. Even if it was unlocked, you didn't want to risk pissing her off any more than you already did.

"Yeah?" A fatigued and worn out voice called softly from inside.

You opened the door slowly and peeked your head in. She was already in bed and covered by multiple layers of sheets. The only thing you could make out in the darkness was her bright mane which seemed to present itself despite how dim the atmosphere was. You stuttered a little nervously as you tried to form words. Your throat was already raw from breathing so much icy air earlier and that didn't help much.

"Hey... I just wanted to ask... D-do you want me to sleep on the couch tonight?"

You were already considering it since going back to your normal routine might not have felt right at the moment, but you at least wanted confirmation from her first.

Slowly and silently, through the tiny strip of light that leaked in from the space outside, you could see her shaking her head.

"Oh... Alright. Well, where do you want me to sleep?"

It was obvious that Vinyl was very tired since she took so long to respond and since she spoke so gently and sleepily. You could see her magenta eyes open halfway and look up at you in a way that made your heart melt for her just like they always did.

"Here... Please..."

The last tear you had in your eyes trickled down your cheek as you smiled.

"Sure thing, Angel."

Author's Notes:

If there are any grammatical or spelling errors, please send me a PRIVATE MESSAGE and let me know so that I can fix them asap. Thanks for reading! <3
~Canadianbrony91