The Snow on Her Cheek

Chapter Thirty-Four

Strangers in the Night

***

"...And I'll buy a Fendmare Stratocoltster," Vinyl carried on with her list of "Things we need to buy as soon as possible", while Octavia lay by her side in their spacious bed, giggling at her mare's excitement.

"I thought you hated Fendmares," the cellist chimed in mockingly, raising her brow.

"And then we'll buy a white grand..." the unicorn continued dreamily, not listening to her mare's remarks. "And we'll buy you an amazing cello... A Coltivarius, maybe?"

"Coltivarius made violins, not cellos," the grey mare retorted with a sigh. I wonder if Vinyl will stop geeking out just because we have so much money...

A few weeks had passed since they had recorded their first single; now they were in the process of recording a full album and at the moment both mares were lying on their bed, thinking about the possible song titles; however, the discussion soon changed into a "What we'll buy when the album's done" talk.

"Whatever." Vinyl shrugged idly. "And then we totally need to buy- Mhmmmfmfm!"

Alas, Octavia was in no mood of listening to her marefriend's nonsense and simply decided to shut her up with a deep kiss. Needless to say, the cellist succeeded as Vinyl returned the kiss eagerly. Rolling in bed, they kept tongue-wrestling for minutes that seemed more like hours; but they broke the kiss eventually.

"Mmhm, Tavi, you're still good," Vinyl said, fires of mockery dancing in her eyes. "Not getting old at all." She winked at her mare, who met her gaze with a unamused expression.

"Very funny, Vinyl." She faked a yawn. "And here I was, thinking about that foursome suggestion..." She drew a circle with her hoof on the blanket, flapping her eyelashes.

Vinyl coughed as her eyes widened a little. "Oh, come on, Tavi! You know that was a joke!" She relaxed a bit, seeing her mare giggle at her success at making the white unicorn embarrassed. "Besides, I'm sure Lyra will never let anypony else taste her Bon-Bon," Vinyl finished with a grin.

Octavia chuckled a little. Then, a sudden realisation hit the white mare. Taste... Bon-Bon... Like, taste her Bon-Bon...

"Tavi..." Vinyl said in a stately manner, extending her hoof. "My shades, please."

Octavia blinked in lack of understanding. "But your goggles are-" she began, only to be interrupted by the white unicorn.

"No, Tavi. My shades."

Oh, her special shades... The grey mare nodded in understanding, taking her mare's sunglasses from the nearby cabinet. She sighed as Vinyl took the shades solemnly. She's being "punny" again... Of all the mares in Equestria, I fell for this one...

Vinyl cleared her throat audibly. "Tavi, did you get it?" Receiving a nod from her mare, the pianist carried on. "Lyra won't let anypony taste her Bon-Bon." Vinyl put the shades on in a rough, swift motion. "AAAAWWW YEEEEEAAAH!!!"

Octavia facehoofed, watching her mare take off the shades as a stupid grin still remained on the white pony's face. She couldn't help but chuckle and pat her marefriend on the shoulder indulgently.

"You happy now?" she asked, planting small, sweet kisses upon the pianist's neck.

"Mmhm," Vinyl responded, closing her eyes in content.

Suddenly, loud, earth-shattering roars from the outside made the musical mares jump in surprise. Something was happening in the streets: they could hear ponies shouting, and loud music blaring from the speakers.

"A parade?" Vinyl wondered hopefully.

"Or..." Octavia didn't finish her grim speculation. They both knew that war could come to the West; and it could come to Los Pegasus. In fact, neither of them had paid any attention to the news lately, both being deeply involved in the creative process.

Vinyl gulped and met Octavia's slightly disheartened gaze with her own, which was burning with determination. "We need to go see for ourselves."

"Okay," the cellist agreed without hesitation, making Vinyl blink in amazement. She... She hasn't questioned my logic, she just... agreed with me. A warm feeling crawled into the pianist's chest. She trusts me, Vinyl concluded, following her mare out of the flat. She trusts me. And that's all that matters.

***

"AAAAAND NOW THE NEWS FOR THOSE WHO'VE JUST ARRRRIVED!" a voice reached Vinyl and Octavia's ears as they made their way through the thick crowd of cheering ponies. The park near their house was full of colourful equines, who were chatting with each other cheerfully, big smiles on their faces. Confused, the two musical mares squeezed through the crowd towards the improvised stage, on which a stallion in a black suit was standing, holding a microphone in his magical grip, his happy voice beaming across the park.

"THANKS TO OUR BRAVE SOLDIERS, THE WAR IS FINALLY OVER!" He paused, letting the ponies erupt in loud cheers. "HER ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCESS CELESTIA AND THE GRIFFIN EMPEROR HAVE SIGNED A PEACE TREATY, AND THE GRIFFIN TROOPS ARE HASTILY LEAVING OUR LAND!" The ponies began stomping their hooves in approval, whistling and yelling. Octavia and Vinyl exchanged confused, and hopeful looks. "MOREOVER, HER ROYAL HIGHNESS SENDS HER UNDYING GRATITUDE TO THE SPECIAL FORCES THAT HAD BEEN FORMED BY GAY PEGASI! SINCE THEY WERE THE DECISIVE FACTOR IN ACHIEVING VICTORY, FROM NOW ON, SINGLE-SEX MARRIAGE IS LEGAL IN ALL OF  EQUESTRIA! SO, LET'S GIVE AN OVATION TO OUR FAVOURITE COLT-CUDDLERS AND FILLY-FOOLERS!"

Ponies all around began applauding and cheering, making Vinyl and Octavia blush intensely. It all seemed so... dream-like. So surreal. But at the same, it was all very real: the vernal breeze blowing through the park, the sound of stomping hooves, the warmth that the ponies' bodies radiated. The war was over. Octavia cast a glance at Vinyl, who nodded, understanding her mare immediately. The war was over. Once and for all.

Off in the distance, Octavia saw Lyra and Bon-Bon waving to the crowd sheepishly. She cast a glance at Vinyl, whose face was red by that time, her beautiful red eyes covered by the everpresent goggles. Oh no, not at a time like this, the cellist thought and, taking off the white mare's goggles, threw them on the ground, drawing her marefriend into a passionate kiss. Maybe for the first time in her life, she didn't care about anything else, or anypony else, in the world. All she cared about was the wonderful unicorn mare who had entered her life so quickly, and changed it so drastically.

Meanwhile, a white unicorn trotted onto the stage, met with a thunderous cheer from the crowd and occasional shrieks, mostly from the mares, but also from occasional stallions. His short black mane was neatly cut and his blue eyes were smiling. The announcer shouted proudly, "WELCOME... THE ONE AND ONLY... FRAAAANK SINEIGHTRA!"

Vinyl and Octavia broke the kiss to look at the stage. The white unicorn took the microphone and, waving his hoof at the crowd, began to sing, exchanging a few jokes with the audience beforehand.

The musical mares listened in awe as the performer sang, his vocal range far from impressive, but his voice sweet as honey, his swinging on the edge of failing; but every time he managed to keep the rhythm. Not saying a word, Vinyl extended her hoof, asking Octavia for a dance. The grey mare obliged, and they began to dance, moving slowly around the small patch of frozen ground that was available to them as the ponies around them stepped back, giving way to the two lovers.

Vinyl closed her eyes blissfully, slowly moving around, her hooves feeling the steady, calm rhythm of the song, while her heart was beating in tranquillity. As long as Octavia was with her, nothing else mattered.

She thought about what they had experienced together: the disgusting laws; the terrible addiction; death and misery; secrets and lies. But they'd overcome. They had overcome everything, side by side, together. Now, Vinyl could swear on her soul that she would spend the rest of her life with Octavia. She didn't need anypony else in the world; and, if everything around them one day lost meaning, turned against them or just collapsed into nothingness, she knew her heart would go on so long as Octavia was nearby.

It seemed to her that the song was written about them: they had been just strangers in the night, back in the small jazz bar in Manehattan. They had fallen in love, and now it was high time for a happily ever after. The war was gone; now, she had to take one last step towards eternal happiness...

"Tavi, will you marry me?"

The very moment Vinyl asked the question, the question that would forever seal their fate, the crowd erupted in a cheerful applause as the announcer began repeating the wonderful news for all the ponies who had just arrived.

"Can't hear you, love!" Octavia shouted, but immediately realised no sound escaped her lips; or, to be more precise, the crowd's cheers drowned her words. A frown crossed her lover's face, when suddenly, a thought crossed Vinyl's mind - it was visible on her face - and she galloped off towards the stage, leaving the dumbfounded Octavia wonder what her marefriend was up to.

Vinyl pushed ponies aside, not caring to apologise. She saw her goal, and nothing else mattered; she knew that she definitely had to reach the stage. One more step... She climbed onto the stage and, much to the surprise of the announcer, grabbed the microphone in a swift motion, holding it in her telekinetic grip.

"TAVI, WILL YOU MARRY ME?!" she shouted into the mic; the sound came out even louder, for the audience fell silent the second the white unicorn appeared on the stage. "Octavia Philarmonica, I love you will all of my heart, and I want to be by your side, from now on to eternity," she said, more calmly this time, her voice firm and determined. "Will you marry me?"

Silence fell upon the small park. Ponies exchanged confused glances, until one particular grey earth pony took off towards the stage, tears in her eyes preventing her from seeing decently. She cried, and smiled at the same time. Never in her life had she felt so happy. She ran onto the stage and enveloped her marefriend in a tight embrace, placing a passionate kiss onto her lips. Breaking the kiss in a second, she smiled as the announcer, who had surely driven into what was going on and offered her a microphone with a smile. But Octavia didn't need it. Looking into Vinyl's wonderful, mesmerising red eyes, she inhaled deeply and shouted on top of her lungs, letting passion fill her voice, which resonated all around the park, flowing onto the streets of Los Pegasus.

"YES, VINYL! YES, I WILL! YES! YES!"

With that, the mares united in a loving kiss, much to the glee of the audience, who, stomping their hooves, expressed their approval with loud cheers and yells. But Octavia didn't see or hear them; neither did Vinyl. Only the two of them existed at that moment. Only their love existed at that moment. And nothing else mattered.

A particular line of a particular song resonated in their heads, simultaneously, as their lips and tongues sealed the future they had just outlined for themselves, the future that was not only bright, but blinding with its brightness.

It turned out all right for strangers in the night... Two strangers in the night~