A filly had to be careful, kissing colts. Vinyl had grown up hearing this, and on the cusp of marehood, she had learned the hard way that young mares had to be even more careful kissing stallions. Clutching Tarnish’s head, she looked down at his face, which was rather limp and sagging. Sometimes, a kiss was just a simple act of friendship, at least, that was the intention, but colts—and especially stallions—saw a kiss as an invitation or a promise for something more.

Failing to make good on that invitation or delivering on that promise was an open door for trouble, a lesson that Vinyl, like so many others, had learned the hard way. Close that door and a filly or a mare might find it forced open. Even the so called ‘good ones’ could get the wrong idea and then become quite irate when they felt snubbed after being ‘such good friends.’ As if that entitled them to some reward, some special privilege, a right to come and take what they were ‘owed.’

Knowing all of this, understanding it all too well, Vinyl Scratch leaned down her head and planted a light peck upon Tarnish’s lips, hoping that he would be okay. The first kiss didn’t satisfy her dread, her sense of worry, her keen sense of feminine protection, so she did it again. This time, her lips lingered against his, and she breathed in and out the same air that he was breathing. Whimpering, she gave him a little shake, but nothing happened.

“He’ll come around,” Daring Do whispered to Vinyl, knowing that her words were cold comfort, but she said them anyway. “You remember what Princess Celestia said, that Tarnish was a unicorn, and not an earth pony or a centaur. His body just wasn’t meant to channel certain magics.”

Lifting her head, Vinyl stared into Daring Do’s eyes. She remembered that conversation all too well. Princess Celestia had also said that it was Tarnish’s poison joke talent having one final laugh at him, channeling magic through him that his body was ill-equipped to cast. Both Princess Celestia and Tarnish had found that funny, but Vinyl hadn’t found it funny at all.

“This is very frustrating,” Daring Do muttered. “We’re losing daylight. We’re losing valuable time that we could be using to move valuable supplies. I feel bad for even saying this, but I know that we’re all practical sorts who prioritise survival.”

To reassure Daring, Vinyl nodded, and her chin brushed up against Tarnish’s snoot. She understood the frustration, and she also understood that Daring wasn’t being a cold, unfeeling bitch. Daring had a close, meaningful friendship with Tarnish, so much so that sometimes, Vinyl felt jealous, something that Vinyl absolutely hated about herself. She hated catty, proprietorial mares that acted like insufferable, over-possessive bitches, and yet, here she was, becoming what she hated.

“This is why I’m glad that I’m a pegasus,” Rainbow Dash whispered to the others. “This magic stuff is just too complicated. Too many rules, too many things you have to take into consideration, too many things you have to worry about. I’ve nursed Twi back to health after she’s overexerted herself.” She sniffed a bit, clearing her nose, then continued, “It’s not all that different than dealing with a downed athlete, really, now that I think about it, and Spitfire says I’m pretty good at that. I got Misty Fly going again when she pulled a groin muscle.”

Wincing, Daring Do hissed between clenched teeth.

“It was her own fault, she didn’t have her legs in the right position and when we all spiraled away out of the vortex we created, gravitational forces and suction pulled a little too hard on parts of her.” Rainbow, looking rather solemn, pressed her booted front hooves together and stared down at them. “For me, it was a good wakeup call to pay attention and follow every instruction as given. When Spitfire says to keep your hind legs high and tight, you keep your hind legs high and tight.”

“Doesn’t sound much different than being a unicorn,” Daring Do said to Rainbow Dash.

Vinyl lifted her head, moved by the words, and as she thought about them inside of her head, she saw the truth in them. Being a pegasus pony was just a different set of complications and the consequences were no less dire. She gave Tarnish a squeeze and was rewarded with a feeble shudder. A low moan reverberated in Vinyl’s throat as she tried to get Daring Do and Rainbow Dash’s attention. They just didn’t pay attention to her like Tarnish did.

There was the crinkling, static-crackle sound of protective outerwear as Daring Do leaned over to have a better look at Tarnish. It was warm in the cave, comfortable even, and they had all been able to peel off a few layers for easier movement. Vinyl felt a reassuring pat upon her neck and she gave Tarnish a gentle shake.

“I had the weirdest dream,” Tarnish croaked, his voice sounding parched and gritty. “Did I get hit in the head or something? I had this strange dream that I was a fifty foot tall tree. I was super pissed off and just wrecking stuff. It was the most wonderful dream… I was killing all mechanoids.”

“Yeah, Tarnish, about that.” Rainbow Dash grinned as she spoke and her head bobbed up and down. “We need to have a talk…”

Propped up against Vinyl on the sledge, Tarnish sipped his cup of tea and admired what he felt was a tastefully decorated and beautiful tree. It was hovering near zero, but it was sunny, and he could feel the warmth of the sun penetrating through his heavy protective clothing. He was weak as a kitten, but that was fine, everything was fine, and he wasn’t going to worry about anything.

Nope.

No worries.

He had a festive holiday tree to lift his spirits, and he felt that he had gone above and beyond the call of duty as the morale officer. Right now, lifted spirits were just what they needed, because Daring Do and Rainbow Dash were straining under the burdensome load on the sledge. There were still more trips to make, but Daring Do had insisted on packing on just a little more on this go to make up for lost time.

There was a painful gurgle from his stomach and Tarnish suspected that he hadn’t eaten enough to recover. Perhaps a more organised trip to Ol’ Gertie was in order, but he didn’t want his friends seeing all those bodies. There was a lot of food to be salvaged though, and other, bulkier, far heavier supplies than he could carry by himself. These were going to be high kilocalorie days for all of them, not just him, but also the two pegasus ponies, who were dragging better than a quarter of a ton of weight through the snow.

If only Maud were here, this would be a lot easier.

But Maud wasn’t here. She was on the other side of the world, far, far away, no doubt nursing Pebble, because she was a voracious milk slurping abomination. His beloved abomination, a creature given form and shape by repurposing life-threatening, world destroying chaos magic and stuffing it into the only womb strong enough to contain it. Tarnish was proud of what he had created, and he was quite offended by just how terrified some ponies were of his sweet little Pebble Pie.

“Vinyl, what are we to one another?” he asked, having grown weary of the oppressive silence and the sounds of the snow crust crunching.

There was no reply, but he felt her squeeze him. Maybe she didn’t know either, and if that was the case, that was fine. If she wanted to talk, she could pull out her slate. He hoped that she wasn’t being so stingy with her magic that she was withholding her communication. There was enough food… for now.

“Cloudy is really, really angry with me, and I think I know why,” Tarnish said to Vinyl, his voice muffled by the scarf wrapped around his muzzle. “She places a lot of value upon the marital mattress, if you know what I mean. I don’t think she understands us, and to be fair to her, I don’t think I understand us.”

No reply seemed forthcoming from Vinyl, and Tarnish sighed as the sledge was dragged over the crusted, ice-glazed snow.

“I have a confession, Vinyl, and I hope you won’t be angry… I panicked, Vinyl… I panicked just like a foal because Cloudy quite literally had me backed into a corner and she was letting me have it.” Tarnish sucked in some chilly, moist air through the layers of his thick woollen scarf.

He pulled his scarf away for a moment, exposing his nose to stinging air, and he took a sip of steaming hot tea, tea that did not grow cool in the freezing air. There was a reassuring squeeze from Vinyl, and he hoped that she would understand.

“I need to confess this to Octavia too… but I’m a bit more worried about how she’ll take it,” Tarnish said to his mute friend. “Cloudy had me coming and going, and I was all worked up, and I swear, it felt like I was five years old again or something. Just to get her to shut up, I told her what she wanted to hear. I told her that we do things in the bed together, but that we don’t do things to each other. I tried to tell her that I didn’t think that it was a big deal, that she was overreacting, but she just stomped right out of her own kitchen and took off on a long walk.”

Another sip of tea, a sigh, and then Tarnish tucked his muzzle back into his scarf.

“I hope you can forgive me. It felt wrong to talk about. What we do in our bedroom is our business and I feel kinda ashamed of myself for revealing that part of our personal lives. But I think that Cloudy thinks that I should make you two honest mares, and that I should do the right thing and marry you two.”

This time, it was Vinyl who sighed, and Tarnish felt his ears slide around inside of his ushanka as they tried to perk, but couldn’t.

“Are we doing something wrong, Vinyl?” Tarnish asked, and he craned his head around to look at her. After a moment, he saw her shake her head, but he wasn’t convinced. Cloudy was just too upset, and Cloudy was a good mare. He trusted Cloudy because she was a good mare, and he lived in fear of disappointing her.

“I don’t understand any of it. We’re together but separate. I don’t even know how to talk about it with other ponies, and to be honest, I think the only pony I could talk about it to would be Princess Cadance, not that I want to reveal any details about our private lives to her.” Blinking, Tarnish felt the burning sting of tears, and was thankful for his goggles, as the wind would make this sting unbearable.

“There is a lot of grown up stuff that I still don’t understand, and I don’t know how the three of you put up with me. I’m not nearly as grown up as I should be, and I know it. This success has made me reckless and squirrelly, and I know it. I know it and I can’t deny it.” The hollow ache in Tarnish’s stomach intensified and he pulled his scarf away from his muzzle so he could drink more tea.

As he did so, Vinyl’s slate floated into view, and he saw letters drawn in bright orange chalk. He had to blink a few times before his vision was clear enough so that he might be able to read them. Seeing the words caused his throat to grow tight and he felt his barrel begin hitching.

Because, we love you. For better or for worse, we love you.

Author's Notes: