Nighttime fell over the Wonderbolt academy on the second day since the attack on the academy by the Shadowbolts and Spitfire had felt sluggish the entire time with everything that needed to be done in order to return the academy back to normalcy. She eyed the invitation that had been delivered earlier that day but had no heart to reply. “Come in.” She said when the door had been knocked on disturbing the silence.
Fainthoof poked his head in. “Spitfire, it’s time.” He watched her face fall. “Do you want a few more minutes? Nopony would blame you.”

Spitfire shook her head. “No. If I wait, I’m going to want to keep putting it off.” She stood up and straightened her dress blues. “Faint, be honest. How do I look?” As she asked, he reached over her desk and grabbed a pair of flight goggles.

Fainthoof paused trying to determine if it was a trick question before deciding to tell her the truth. “Miserable. But that’s to be expected.”
Spitfire just nodded her thanks and together the two walked out of the office before heading towards the grounds where the funeral pyre would take place. Neither of them spoke as they walked side by side under Luna’s night sky where the stars shone brightly and the usual lights had been replaced by tiki torches as they made their way to where the funeral would be. She had told everypony that there was no need to get dressed up, so she was –pleasantly– surprised when the pegasi closest to him where in dress blues while everypony else were in their Wonderbolt uniform.

Fainthoof saw the uneasy looks that were sent his way as he and Spitfire got closer but found he simply didn’t care anymore. Seeing Spitfire pause, he stopped and gave her a few seconds to compose herself before nudging her forward.

Spitfire narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t say anything before heading towards the center front where the funeral pyre awaited and when she saw Silver Lining, her breath hitched. Silver Lining had been cleaned along with his uniform. His fore-legs had been crossed in front of his chest with his wings having been fully extended and turned upwards to allow the feathers to reach above his head. She placed his flight goggles on his chest before turning to face the assembled Wonderbolts.

“Tonight, we mourn the passing of a great Wonderbolt.” Spitfire started, steeling herself so she wouldn’t appear miserable in front of the others. “Silver Lining, perhaps a bit harsh at times, was a shining example of what it meant to be a Wonderbolt. Training others, watching out for his comrades, never giving up. He was all that and more and while he was killed in a cowardly way, I know we will not forget him and his methods of teaching and honestly, I didn’t always agree with them but the results speak for themselves.” She paused and looked at the Wonderbolts trying to hold it together. “In a few days’ time, we’ll be adding his portrait to the hall of honor where he’ll join the other fallen Wonderbolts. For now, would anypony else like to share a memory?”

For a few minutes, nopony spoke until Blaze stood up. “Like Spitfire said, he was harsh at times, but everything he did, he had a damn good reason to do so. He pushed all of us harder even when we didn’t think we could give anymore. As much as I hated him at times, damn I respect him much more.” She sat down and another Wonderbolt stood up to share his story. When he was done, another took his place and as they spoke, Spitfire listened while allowing herself a small smile knowing every memory was dead on accurate. When every pegasi that felt comfortable speaking had spoken, she nodded to Misty Fly and Blaze.

Together, the two walked over to a tiki torch before grabbing torches and igniting the cloth. With a nod to each other, they moved up to the funeral pyre and slipped their torches on either side between the logs and the dry wood caught fire instantly. After adding their torches to the pyre, they both stepped back while Fleetfoot and Soarin moved forward and stood on either side of Spitfire.

“Wonderbolts, attention!” Spitfire commanded and didn’t have to look back to know every pegasi obeyed as they stood up. “Salute!” She called and every Wonderbolt looked skyward and raising both wings to their fullest extent as one. “May the winds be forever under your wings, old friend.” She said the last part quietly so that only Misty Fly, Soarin, Fleetfoot and Blaze heard her while Fainthoof discreetly shadow hopped back to Canterlot.

Paige heard a knocking noise before sensing movement in the room and sat up while opening her eyes in time to see Lyla Firecracker answering the door.

“Hey, Minako.” Lyla Firecracker greeted warmly.

“Morning.” Minako greeted back as Harmonious Flash and Kitsune waved. “We were just about to look for food and wanted to see if you three were awake.”

“Let me check.” Lyla Firecracker glanced at herself. “I’m awake, let me check my roommates.” She looked back at the room earning a wave from Paige. “Is Blue Jay up?”

Paige glanced down beside her to see Blue Jay’s back to her. “Blue Jay, do you want to get something to eat?”

“I’m not hungry.” Blue Jay replied and curled up more into the sheets.

“You’re not hungry?” Paige asked as she heard Blue Jay’s stomach growl. “At least come hang out with us and celebrate our victory.”
Truth be told, Blue Jay wasn’t anywhere close to thinking about food. Instead, her mind was locked in a loop about her killing those Shadowbolts, Paige’s last second declaration of love, and how there was no way Paige would really want to be with her after the murder spree. “Please, just leave me alone.”

Paige frowned and went to pat Blue Jay’s shoulders but stopped. “Okay, rest well. I’ll send some food your way once we find something.” She said sadly before getting up and joining the others. “She’s not hungry right now.”

“Are you kidding? I’d be-” Harmonious Flash began but Paige put a hoof onto her lips before moving her down the hallway. They were about to turn the corner when they heard the door open.

“Girls, wait for me.” Blue Jay’s voice cracked as she approached them slowly like it was taking all her concentration just to walk. “I’m a little hungry, but the silence is worse than….” She trailed off not wanting to explain her thoughts. Without the sheets to cover her wings, it was clear that she would need a good preening session but only two ponies happen to see them before Paige cast an illusion spell over Blue Jay’s wings.
Harmonious Flash instantly saw the sorry state of Blue Jay’s wings and worried that something must definitely be wrong for a pegasus to not be concerned about their wings. Putting a hoof around Blue Jay’s shoulders and felt her flinch slightly before relaxing. “We’ll be glad for your company.” She said cheerfully and just to be safe, removed her hoof.

It wasn’t long before the six were sitting at a table in one of the smaller dining rooms eating a buffet style brunch. Each of them shared their battle experience except for Blue Jay, who sat there and ate quietly while only answering direct questions with the minimal amount of effort. As Paige had been with her, she told most of the story and leaving out a few things.

“Sounds like you girls had quite the experience.” Gai said as he and Tony walked in.

“We sure did, even saving Canterlot.” Harmonious Flash.

“Well, now we know who destroyed the throne room.” Tony chuckled as the girls looked down at their food bashfully and he sighed. “Not sure we’ll finish repairing it before the gala.”

Paige looked up. “A gala? What about a gala?”

“You girls don’t know?” Tony asked and got five shakes of heads. “The honoring of those who gave their lives gala. Celestia announced it two days ago.”

“But yesterday was the battle.” Lyla Firecracker recounted. “I didn’t think anypony could move that fast.”

Tony shook his head. “No, the battle happened three days ago.” As he said that, five jaws dropped.

“You mean we slept for two whole days?” Kitsune asked, wondering how that was possible. “But that would explain why we’re so hungry.”

“I guess so?” Gai replied, not really sure how to answer. “But you better hurry and regain your strength, we might need to you destroy the throne room so we can stay in business.” He teased them earning a smack upside the head by Tony.

“Watch it, boy.” Tony said sternly, though he winked as he was playing along. “As much as I hate to say this, Gai and I need to eat and get back if we stand any chance of fixing it before tonight.” They waved goodbye and parted, even though he knew there was no way possible.

“Two whole days….” Kitsune repeated.

“Probably because we’re not used to that much magic all at once.” Paige reasoned. “Even for me, most unicorns might use that much in a month.”

“Do you think we’ll get acknowledged in anyway?” Harmonious Flash asked.

“Geez, we just learned about the gala and you’re already thinking about a reward?” Lyla Firecracker teased.

“Of course not.” Harmonious Flash defended, then realized she was getting teased and punched Lyla Firecracker’s shoulder. “But honestly, we probably should look our best just in case.”

“She does have a point.” Minako agreed as they stood up. “Let’s hope the dry cleaners and spa aren’t busy.

“Are you sure you really don’t want to join us this time?” Paige asked as Blue Jay hopped onto the bed.

“We’d love to have you.” Lyla Firecracker smiled as she grabbed their dresses.

Blue Jay shook her head. “I’m just dampening the mood.” She said staring at the bed. “Hanging out with you girls was mostly what I needed, but I still need time to figure things out.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Paige asked, noticing that Blue Jay’s voice sounded hollow. “Remember, we’re your friends. Please don’t keep it in for a month like the last time you did.

Blue Jay shook her head slowly. “Not today. I promise I won’t keep it in again and I’ll be better by the time the gala rolls around.” Blue Jay said softly and gave Paige a tiny smile.

“Okay, we’ll miss not having you around.” Paige reached out a hoof, paused, and then patted one of Blue Jay’s fore-hooves. She imagine Harmonious Flash felt the same way, to stay and provide company until Blue Jay felt ready to talk, but she also remembered all the other times she attempted to get Blue Jay talking which only served for her to close up.

What’s the point in telling you? Blue Jay thought as she watch Paige, Lyla Firecracker, and the dresses head towards the door.
“Sure she’ll be fine?” Lyla Firecracker whispered as they entered the hallway.

“I think so. She learned her lesson about keeping things bottled up for too long. I hope.” Paige’s expression was that of a pony who didn’t quite believe what she said.

“Who learned her lesson?” Kitsune asked as Minako and Harmonious Flash joined them with their dresses.

“Blue Jay.” Paige replied.

“Oh. I wouldn’t mind talking to her but I don’t think that would be good for anypony.” Kitsune admitted honestly as the five started walking towards the main doors.

“Hay, I think it has something to do with me.” Paige said as they left the castle.

“Oh? What did you do?” Harmonious Flash asked.

“I told you how I thought we were going to die.” Paige began but her voice went to a whisper. “I wanted her to hear it once and… well… Iconfessedmyloveforher.” She whispered quickly as she blushed furiously.

“I confessed my love- oh dear.” Harmonious Flash repeated slowly making sure she heard correctly and realized mid-way through what Paige said. “I think the best thing you can do right now is give her a little space and talk to her privately at, or after the gala.”

“Don’t worry, I plan to.” Paige admitted just before a squirrel darted out from under a bush startling all the girls.

“Darn you squirrel!” Lyla Firecracker shook a hoof in its general direction while Kitsune raced after it.

“Come back here!” Kitsune growled playfully and watched the squirrel scamper up a tree. “Curses, foiled again.”

Because the girls hadn’t known about the gala beforehoof, they considered themselves very lucky to get into the spa for pampering, hooficures and suffered a rush charge for the dry cleaning. Seeing how there would be no way they could make it back before the gala started, Paige teleported Blue Jay’s dress to their room as they started heading back to the castle wearing the same dresses they had worn to the Equestria Symphony Orchestra. When they reached the castle, they found a long line of ponies waiting to get in.
"I hope we don't do this every time there's a gala." An earth stallion said to his date while Kitsune had a sudden urge to sing.

“At the Gala, in the garden
I’m going to see them all
All the ponies I’ll befriend them at the Gala.”

“At the Gala.” The other ponies chimed in but when Kitsune opened her mouth, Feral Lupus’ voice came out instead.

“All of them and their friendships
I don’t care about that
I just want to play with Blue Jay forever
Right here at the Gala!”

She finished her part earning a worried look from the others, except for Minako but Kitsune smiled innocently. Shrugging it off, Minako sang.

“After the Gala
A choice to make (got to make)
To keep the parlor open (tattoos open)
Or search for Shadow (gotta search)
This is something (want to do)
I feel I need to do (need to do)
And I’ll bring her back
When I find her!

Paige silently wished her luck on that quest and briefly wondered what to sing about, but something clicked and she added her verse.

“At the Gala
After the battle
One thing left to do
I hope I find out at the Gala.”

She got interrupted but since it flowed nicely, she didn’t mind too much.

“Already I confessed
That the one I love
Knows exactly how I feel
Will she return the feelings?
Tonight at the Gala?”

Oddly, Harmonious Flash knew her first great success had only happened four days ago, despite it feeling a lot longer.

“From janitor
With confidence
To write for that classical mare,
Octavia Melody, her usual grace
Preforming for crowds of thousands
We’ll play across the horizons
Canterlot will see me right here at the Gala!”

High in the sky, several fireworks went off and while Lyla Firecracker wasn’t thrill because they weren’t hers, she had to admit whichever pony did that did a very good job.

“I’m here at the Grand Gala
For I’ve dreamed of this
Fireworks and entertainment I can provide
For explosive shows are my specialties
Ponies watching
Ponies in awe
With us at the Grand Gala!”

Blue Jay walked down the halls on her way to the ballroom. Hearing fireworks outside and sweet sounding music, she opened her mouth to ask a guard for the final directions, instead, she sang a verse she thought she’d never do.

“At the Gala (At the Gala)
With my friends (with my friends)
Just one thing that, confuses me more than ever (more than ever)
Do I really love her?
I’ll just listen to my heart”

What was weird was that any pony that either Blue Jay or her friends passed had obviously heard something similar beforehoof as they began singing about their appearances.

“Into the Gala we must go
We're ready now, we're all aglow
Into the Gala, let's go in and have the best night ever
Into the Gala, now's the time
We're ready and we look divine!”

“Into the Gala.” The background ponies and Kitsune sand before she went on by herself.
“Meet new friends.”

“Into the Gala.” Minako sand with the other ponies helping.
“Search for her.”

“Into the Gala.” Paige timed perfectly with the background ponies.
“Get an answer.”

“Find my calling.” Harmonious Flash was glad she did.
“As a music writer.”

“To meet!” Kitsune and Feral Lupus sang at the same time.
“To search!” Minako made her final decision.
“To find!” Paige hoped Blue Jay would talk to her.
“To write!” Harmonious Flash felt she could compose something with this song.
“To party!” Lyla Firecracker cheered and after that night, they needed one.
“To love!” Blue Jay felt something was right about that.

At the very end, everypony present had felt the music all jumped in on that last part.

“Into the Gala
Into the Gala
And we'll have the best night ever!
At the Gala!”

When the song finished, Blue Jay blinked as she found herself looking towards her friends, who had just entered the hallway leading to the ballroom. She caught their eye and waved, putting a smile on her face as she weaved her way through to join them.

“Blue Jay, where’s your dress?” Paige asked, knowing she had been actuate in sending the dress to their room. “I teleported it to you a while ago.”

“I… just didn’t feel like wearing it tonight.” Blue Jay admitted. This time she wore a black satin dress that glittered when the light hit it making her appear to be a nighttime sky. The only problem was that it clearly meant for a non-pegasus user as it lacked the wing holes.

“So you decided to raid somepony’s closet?” Harmonious Flash asked, quite amused.

“Actually, Rarity left several dresses in our closet with a note saying anypony was free to use them with the understanding to have them dry cleaned after and returned to the castle.” Blue Jay twirled around, making the dress act like a small disco ball. “What do you think?”

“It does look good on you.” Kitsune smiled and the others agreed. There wasn’t any more time to talk as Celestia walked over to a pedestal at one end of the ballroom where two large boards were hanging, each pony’s name was inscribed in gold and when she was ready, she nodded to the guard who called for silence.

“Thank you.” Celestia told the guard, not that it really needed to be done because most ponies had fell silent when they saw Celestia. “Welcome my little ponies, to the honoring of the fallen gala. I’m sure most of you have lost, or know somepony that lost a family member during our last conflict. It is with heavy hearts that we must say good bye to them as those who live on mourn with the losses. Some families might sit in silent complementation, others may cry until all tears have been shed, and some may read a book or listen to music or do something to escape reality for a while. Tonight we have a choice, we can be depressed that our loved ones are gone, or we can choose to seek comfort amongst each other and celebrate the time we had with them. How you spend the night is entirely up to you, but know that whatever you’re feeling now, others are more than likely to be feeling that as well.” Celestia stepped down from the pedestal as the assembled ponies clapped respectfully while Celestia began mingling with them listening to the stories.

“She does have the right idea.” Lyla Firecracker said softly. “I know it’s sad and hard, but I can’t imagine those that passed on would want us to be sad. Not to say that it wouldn’t be difficult, because it is.”

Minako threw a hoof around Lyla Firecracker’s and Paige’s shoulders. “Sounds like a clear invitation to party. Something to eat or dancing first?”

“Dancing!” Harmonious Flash cheered before anypony could say anything and then she dragged Kitsune to the center and danced with her. Since it was still early, the music was slow and respectful but from those who danced, they made it work.

“You just had to kill him didn’t you?” A voice behind Fainthoof asked and he didn’t even bother turning around. Since Luna had ordered him to watch over the gala, he had disguised himself as a pegasus to keep his actual appearance a secret and had chosen to stay far away from everypony possible. “I know you would have loved to torture him, Darkfire, but I was not about to give that bastard another chance to fight back.” He said referring to Frost Aura.

“Do you really believe I would have let him see the light of day ever again?” Darkfire asked.

“No, but I dwelt with that bastard enough to know him.”

Darkfire sighed. “Can’t win them all. I need to get back down there, there’s a one eye tan Shadowbolt who keeps trying to buck everything in sight. Have fun being bored.”

Fainthoof had a strong idea who it was and glanced behind him to see Darkfire walked away carefully balancing a cactus on his back, which made Fainthoof shiver as he recalled what happened to the last stallion that met the cactus. Turning his head back to the ballroom, he saw Spitfire in her Wonderbolt uniform weaving her way towards him. “Hey.” He greeted when she reached him. “Thought you weren’t coming.”
Spitfire sat beside him. “I wasn’t going to. Soarin and I had a long talk about everything, coming here or not was one of those topics.”

“Did he persuade you?”

“Are you kidding? He’d have a much better chance persuading a pie to move across a table towards him.” Spitfire grinned. “Actually, Misty Fly wanted to come. So she, Fleetfoot, and some of the other Wonderbolts are out there.” She gestured with a hoof to the crowd.

“What about Blaze? She seemed awfully close to him as well.”

“She’s standing vigil over his grave.” The grin fell from her face. “She said she wanted some more time alone with him before things started up again.” A serving colt balanced several glasses of champagne on a tray on his back and as he passed by, Fainthoof lifted two glasses up and handed one to Spitfire. “To Silver Lining. One of the best damn Wonderbolts to live.” She raised her glass.

“To Silver Lining.” Fainthoof clinked their glasses together before they drunk the champagne. “May the winds be forever under his wings.” He added and saw Spitfire give him a surprised look. “What? You don’t think I’ve been around over a thousand years and not know pegasi saying and rituals?”

Spitfire recovered and chuckled. “I just didn’t expect it from you.” The two fell silent and watched the crowd for a couple minutes. Rainbow Dash helping Trixie now that she couldn’t use magic, the former’s wings nearly poofing out when Fleetfoot showed up. Twilight Sparkle staying close to Celestia’s side, perhaps closer than they should have been for teacher and student but neither of them cared. Vinyl Scratch and Octavia mixing their talents together to appeal to a wider audience. “Fainthoof?”

“Yes Spitfire?”

“I’m willing to give us a chance. At being together.” Spitfire clarified as her cheeks burned. “We’ve been through that ordeal together and-”
Fainthoof cut her off with a kiss to her lips, having a good idea where she was going with that. Pulling back, he smiled. “I’ll take that.”

“Want to ditch this place?” Spitfire asked once she gotten over her shock of being kissed. She reached up to make sure the pendant wasn’t going to get in the way of her flying when she remembered it was no longer around her neck.

“Do I ever?” Fainthoof asked rhetorically while changing back to his preferred form and shadowed hopped them into the sky so they could fly together.

As the night went on, the music changed to being more upbeat and happy as the ponies mingled, danced, and found comfort in each other. “Harmony, Lyla.” Paige called out as she made her way to them. “Have either of you seen Blue Jay?” She called over the music. In the beginning, they had tried to stick together but eventually they ended up separated.

“I saw her heading out towards the gardens.” Lyla Firecracker told her and pointed in the right direction. “Paige, good luck.” She said as the next song started.

“Go get her.” Harmonious Flash said before recognizing the song and quickly left to join the large group of ponies on the dance floor.
Paige nodded and headed towards the doors leading towards the gardens but thanks to the many dancers, it took her a little while to get by. As she passed them, she noticed that mare and stallion alike wore a black tux with a bright color shirt under it. Each of them wore either sunglasses or plain, regular glasses, all had a different hat on and some even dyed their manes. The group was led by a small earth mare with a forest green body with an orange mane and tail, a Sheikah eye –a red shape, with three triangles above it and a large tear drop under it– for a cutie mark and a black and gold bracelet around her right fore-hoof wearing a pair of red tinted glasses.

As Paige passed them, they had just jumped to the left and were currently stepping to the right. Since she had never seen this type of dance, she paused and watched as the dancers brought their knees together and thrusted their pelvises towards the floor. With a roll of her eyes, Paige exited into the garden and the cool night air. “Bit for your thoughts?” She asked as she sat next to Blue Jay, noting that she smelled nice.
“Oh, hey, Paige.” Blue Jay greeted as she glanced over at her friend before looking back up to the starry sky. “I just needed to get away from the action for a bit.”

“Want to tell me what’s on your mind? I know whatever was bother you earlier is still bothering you.”

Blue Jay nearly decided to stay quiet, but she didn’t know if her body could take much more of her feelings being bottled up. “How can you be so calm around me after I killed those Shadowbolts?” She asked, her voice cracking a little.

“Would it help if I said you didn’t kill anypony?” Paige watched as Blue Jay shook her head. “It’s the truth, you did a good job knocking them unconscious but you always had to defend yourself before you could go any further. That Shadowbolt I pulled you off of, she would have been your first kill if you kept going.”

“So… I didn’t actually kill anypony?” Blue Jay asked as her eyes started to water. When Paige shook her head, Blue Jay released the tears letting her emotions out while Paige held onto her not saying anything but rubbing her back soothingly.

“Feel better?” Paige asked when Blue Jay stopped crying and felt the pegasus nod into her chest.

“Yeah. My mind is really my own worst prison.” Blue Jay admitted, glad she was free from that guilt except now a new thought replaced it. “Paige? Did you really mean it? When you said you love me…”

Paige took a step back so she could see Blue Jay’s eyes. “Yes, I truly meant it.”

Blue Jay looked shocked for a second, then smiled as relief watched over her face. “I’m glad. I don’t think I could bare it if it was said because we were about to die.” Blue Jay took a breath. Now or never. She thought and looked into Paige’s eyes. “I love you too.” She admitted warmly and met Paige’s kiss halfway as pink fireworks shot into the sky and exploded creating two entwined hearts. Both girls looked at the fireworks and smiled, having a good idea who did it.

“Blue Jay, if you don’t mind, can we turn in early?” Paige asked as the cool air was starting to make her shiver. “I’d like to spend time with you, alone.” When Blue Jay nodded, Paige teleported them to their room.

“Whoo hoo!” Lyla Firecracker cheered. “About time.” She then realized something and looked at her friends, where they had been looking through the windows at Paige’s and Blue Jay’s declaration of love, now looked at her. “Girls, can I sleep in your room tonight? I have a feeling I’m going to need to.”

Blue Jay and Paige appeared in their room staring silently at each other for a moment before Paige removed her dress and laid it over the chair, seeing Blue Jay’s first dress hanging on the closet door. “You’re not wearing that to bed are you?” She asked looking at Blue Jay as she headed to the bed not bothering to undress.

“I’m going to take it off in a moment.” Blue Jay said and put a hoof onto the bed when she felt it being levitated off her. Hearing Paige gasp, she blushed and looked back at her. “That’s why I wanted to wait until I was under the covers.”

(Author note: This scene is going to be a preening session followed by sex, if you don't want to read it, you can skip to the next chapter)

“I thought you were going to preen them before the gala?” Paige commented as the pieces started falling into place as to why Blue Jay changed dresses and realized how long her mind must have been thinking of the killing. “You’re going to have a rough time sleeping like that.” Since she wasn’t a pegasus, she couldn’t imagine having ruffled wings and trying to sleep.

Blue Jay hopped onto the bed. “I know, I’ll live. After all, I went the entire gala like this.”

“Or… I can help you.” Paige blushed scarlet when she realized what she said, knowing from what she read that preening was an intimate act, one that relied on absolute trust and caring.

“Would you really?” Blue Jay asked as she looked down at Paige.

Paige nodded and looked up at Blue Jay. “Anything for you love.”

Blue Jay laid on her stomach on the bed as Paige joined her. “Have you done this before?”

“Never. All the knowledge I have is what I’ve read about in books.” Paige admitted and sat down. “I’ll be gentle as possible.”

Blue Jay spread her right wing. “I trust you.”

Paige took a second to look over the wing’s state before moving her muzzle towards Blue Jay’s primary feathers. Being ever so gentle, she listened to Blue Jay’s coos of delight as she sucked on each feather straightening them and making sure to perform the actions longer that got the louder moans and coos. It didn’t take long before she came across a feather that was too badly damaged and when her muzzle touched it, Blue Jay hissed in pain. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Blue Jay looked at her wing and confirmed what she already knew. “It’ll have to be pulled.”

“It’ll be painful won’t it?”

“Yeah, but it needs to be done. Just pull it out quickly.”

Paige nodded and lightly blew on the quill causing a small amount of oil to form under the feather and made sure to rub it against the quill. Lightly twisting the feather, she continued until it felt loose as it would get. Yanking it quickly, she heard Blue Jay yelp in pain before Paige went back to applying the oil over the hole and kissed it. She kept working her way through the wing and once the primary feathers were done, she started on the secondary feathers and finding they were more sensitive if Blue Jay’s moans were anything to go by.

Paige had been forced to pull a couple more feathers but took care of each one the best she could and with the right wing down, she pulled back and admired her work. “It’s not perfect.”

Blue Jay had her eyes closed at some point and a smile on her muzzle. “It feels much better though. That was great for your first time.” She felt the bed shift and soon felt Paige’s muzzle on her left wing so she extended it to allow Paige to preen her other wing.

Paige felt more confident this time and could see why pegasi consider preening an intimate act and if she had to guess, Blue Jay had at least one orgasm since she started. She soon found a way that numbed the pain of the feathers getting pulled out, which instead of yelps of pain, were simply sharp intakes of breaths or small grunts. After the left wing was finished, he leaned back and compared both wings feeling the left was slightly better than the right.

Blue Jay folded her wings in and rolled over onto her back, a content smile on her face. “Thank you, that felt really good.”

Paige was about to respond when a sweet, musky smell reached her nose. She had started to pick up on it halfway through the left wing but when Blue Jay moved, it became much more noticeable. “You had an orgasm?”

Blue Jay’s eyes widen and she covered her marehood with her tail while blushing hot enough to melt ice. “Y…yes… I didn’t mean to, it just felt so good I got lost in it.”

Paige smiled and laid beside Blue Jay, then leaned in and kissed her. “Don’t feel bad for something you enjoyed.” She couldn’t help to think that she wanted to taste Blue Jay and the smell from her really made Paige want to dive down. “Blue Jay, I know you had a bad time with sex before, but if you want, I can show you just how much I love you.”

“Will it hurt?”

“I promise I’ll never do anything to hurt you like she did.” Paige said with her eyes filled with nothing but love. “If it gets too much, tell me and I’ll stop immediately.”

Blue Jay gave Paige a watery smile. Reaching over with both fore-hooves, she placed them onto Paige’s cheeks and kissed her. “Thank you.” The next time Paige’s lips met hers, the kiss started out as a deep one and soon Blue Jay felt Paige’s tongue on her lips and when she opened her mouth, she felt Paige’s tongue slip in where she battled it for control.

Paige kept the kiss long as they could before both needed to pause for air and while Blue Jay caught her breath, Paige nibbled Blue Jay’s ears lightly before kissing her way down. Reaching Blue Jay’s neck, she bit down and sucked hard hearing her lover cry out in pleasure before pulling back seeing the hickey she had given her. Kissing a trail down lower, she found Blue Jay’s nipples and took turns with sucking on them though they didn’t give her much pleasure, so with a kiss to each tip, she continued down until she stopped just above Blue Jay’s marehood.
Blue Jay swallowed when Paige stopped and saw her look up. “Go ahead.” She breathed out while pushing Feral Lupus to the back of her mind.

Paige could tell Blue Jay was having trouble so instead of licking Blue Jay’s marehood, she instead kissed the inside of her left rear leg and traveled down stopping one kiss away from touching the marehood lips before repeating with the right rear leg. When Paige reached the same spot she stopped at, she planted a kiss just above Blue Jay’s marehood and circled around it completely before planting the last kiss directly onto Blue Jay’s marehood, earning the loudest moan yet. Paige smiled and ran her tongue over Blue Jay’s marehood lightly and with each lick went in deeper as Blue Jay put both fore-hooves onto her head but didn’t try to control her and feeling that Blue Jay wasn’t going to last much longer, she stuck her tongue in far as she could go, which she could rub her nose in Blue Jay’s marehood while pulling her hips down. Hearing Blue Jay cry out loudly, she let the pegasus ride her face the entire time it took for the orgasm to subside while she lapped up much of Blue Jay’s juices she could.

Blue Jay’s entire body had responded to the orgasm, her wings having shot out was the biggest give away. As her body came down from the high, she still shiver every now and then as a minor orgasm twitched through her. Once her body settled completely, she laid there happily basking in the afterglow as Paige laid on her before kissing her. She could taste herself on Paige’s lips but found that as long as it was her, she didn’t care and this time, she brushed her tongue along Paige’s lips seeking permission and entering Paige’s mouth when it was granted. After a short tongue battle, she pulled her tongue out and kissed Paige’s neck. She rolled them over to be on top as she kissed her way down mimicking Paige until she got close to Paige’s marehood and though she could smell the arousal, found she couldn’t go any closer. “Paige… I can’t do it.”

Paige had been surprised when Blue Jay started kissing her body and was a tad disappointed knowing she probably should had hoofed herself off. Reaching down, she put her fore-hooves under Blue Jay’s fore-legs and pulled her back up where she kissed her. “It’s okay. To be honest, I didn’t expect to get that far. I’m happy to have been able to do that with you.” She wrapped her fore-legs around Blue Jay’s body and held her.

Blue Jay felt bad, having gotten off but not being able to return the favor. From time to time, the two mares kissed but mainly held each other silently. Glancing up, her eyes locked onto Paige’s horn. If pegasi wings are sensitive… would it be the same for unicorns’ horns? She asked and scooted up a little. Sticking out her tongue, she lightly licked Paige’s horn causing her to gasp which turned into a moan. Licking the horn felt weird to her, but treating it like a cone, she didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing. With each lick to the tip, some magic sparked out and she found herself wondering what the magic would taste like so as she licked up to the tip, she then took Paige’s horn into her mouth. Sucking on the horn was a strange experience but she found the magic sparks to be tasty while Paige writhe and moaned under her and when she used her tongue on the base of the horn, Paige’s moan grew louder.

Paige couldn’t believe she was getting her horn sucked on by Blue Jay. After her admission, she thought they were done but she was glad Blue Jay decided to be a little adventurous because it felt really good. Reaching down, she rubbed her marehood a few times before Paige felt Blue Jay’s wing push the hoof away and touch her marehood. Moaning, she found herself pushing her marehood into Blue Jay’s wing, the sensation tickling and yet reaching all the right spots just perfectly. She didn’t even try to hold back, she just let her body and Blue Jay control everything.
Blue Jay noticed the magic sparks were getting more frequent and when she added the wing, she was surprise how much the effect had on Paige. She felt the magic building up but before she could question what was about to happen, it shot off as Paige hit her orgasm, the first several volleys going straight down her throat before she had time to process anything but the next couple she took time to enjoy it. Feeling disappointed when no more magic was coming, she released Paige’s horn and kissed it one last time while barely registering her feathers were soaked. This time she looked down at Paige who only had a serene look on her face. Sliding down a little, she laid on her side facing Paige and covered her with her clean wing and both ignored the wet spot between Paige’s legs.

“How did you know about that?” Paige asked as they held each other.

“About the horn sucking?” Blue Jay asked. “I didn’t, I was just curious.”

Paige smiled. “I love you.” She said and levitated her glasses over to the night stand.

“I love you too.” Blue Jay replied. She’s beautiful with the glasses, but even much more beautiful with them off. She thought and they shared one last, deep and long kiss before drifting to sleep.

Author's Notes:

Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony, Hasbro does.
However, I'm pleased to say I do own Blue Jay, Paige, Harmonious Flash, Kitsune/Feral Lupus, Lyla Firecracker, Minako, and Shadow.

Also, the Shadowbolts named here are mine as well.
Fainthoof is used with permission from Damien, a good friend of mine.

As always, constructive criticism is welcome. It'll help me to improve my writing and seeing what people liked. Also, please let me know if there’s anything you like about the story.