"No-" Starry snapped, her voice stronger than it had been before as she started towards him "- This has gone on long enough. I'm not sleeping alone tonight and you're not sleeping on the couch."

She took a breath and stared him down.

"We're going to talk about Canterlot and my uncle, now."

"Starry I-" Stone started, pressing a hoof to his face ", I'm tired."

"I am too-" She begged him, closing the distance between them and pressing her muzzle hard into his chest ", I want to talk about it. I feel like I have to go- And I don't think I can do it without you, Stone."

He wrapped his wing around her, only hesitating for a second before enveloping her in a hug. He didn't speak, so Starry filled the silence of the apartment.

"I have to do this," She continued ", If I don't do it someone who can afford the estate will take it. And those ponies are not good like here in Ponyville."

She curled her forelegs around his neck, clinging to him like a baby bat to its mother.

"And if they take it, things are just going to get worse in Canterlot! If I can make a change, I want to do it, I have to do it or I'm no better than the ponies who abandoned me!"

Stone wrapped his hooves around them, pulling her to the floor with his weight. Starry didn't bother to resist, she sunk into the stallion as if she were the softest pillow in the world. His warmth filled all the cold, anywhere and everywhere else that it tried to sink into. 

She knew that he wouldn't let it happen.

"I want to do something that matters, Stone," She whispered into his fur ", But I want you by my side every step of the way. I don't want you to give up everything here, but I want you with me..."

She was shushed by his hoof at the end of her nose, quieting her with nothing more than a simple gesture.

"Starry..." He muttered against her ear ", I don't want to lose you to that crowd."

His simple words were easy to understand, easy to interpret for what they were.

"I don't want to look at you someday and wonder what happened to the mare I fell in love with," he spoke softly ", I don't want to resent you for this choice. I'm terrified that is what we will become..."

"But I-" He shushed her again.

"It's my turn-" He whispered before continuing ", I love you. I am going to support whatever you do, even if I don't agree with it, but I need some give here Starry. I need to know what you're planning so I can fix up things here, and make sure my shit is in order before I gallop into the distance with you."

Starry nodded, leaning forward and pressing her head against his chest, her horn crossing his neck like a blade that would never harm him. They sat in silence before Starry spoke again.

"Then we work hard..." She whispered against his fur ", We make sure that we keep everything fresh, we love each other harder than anything else. I'll help you set something up for the complex while we're in Canterlot. We'll come back for the summer and fall if that's what you want."

He pressed his nose into her hair and breathed, deep and strong the way she always knew him. Would there ever be a time when she wasn't strong? She didn't want to think about that.

"We work together..." He muttered against her mane ", Just... Don't lose me."

"Never," She drew back, clasping his face between her hooves and staring him in the eye so that he knew she would never give him up. "I would never think about losing you. I don't want anyone but you."

He pulled her close, wrapping a wing around her and pressing his forehead into her neck. He grumbled into her neck, a mix of a sob and a sigh, and she held him. Starry ran her hooves over his strong shoulders and down his back, between his wings and back up.

"Don't let me stray-" She whispered into his ear ", Don't let me forget what matters."

"I won't," He hiccuped against her fur, raising his head and looking her in the eye. Starry started to stand, but the stallion stopped her, cupping her cheek in his hoof and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

She returned the kiss, leaning into him before drawing away.

"Come with me..." She whispered ", Come meet my uncle."

"I will..." He responded cooly, softly as if he had to strain to bring the words closer.

"Come to bed..." She soothed, softer than before ", Don't make me sleep alone tonight."

"I won't." He said, stronger, lifting his head and keeping his wing around her. Starry stood, no longer able to think about anything, other than Stone coming back to her.

She wasn't worried that she might be dirty, or that she might be dizzy or anything else like that. She wanted to go to bed with Stone, the stallion that she was going to marry. 

She knew that she would marry Stone because he was nothing like Hoverstep. Stone River was reliable, he was brave, kind, and wonderful. He was immovable, steadfast, and consistent. And she wanted him, she would never not want the stallion who gave everything to a stranger, even when he didn't have to.

"Starry-" Stone said as they pressed through the bedroom door.

"Yes?" She questioned, turning back to him with wide eyes, her heart fluttering in her chest.

"I think... no matter what we go through..." He paused, forming the words he wanted to say ", In the end... I want you to be happier. Happier than you were in Canterlot."

"As long as you're with me, I will be." Starry smiled softly up at the stallion, starting towards the bed and curling herself up in the blankets. The bat pony was quick to follow her, sliding in between the blanket and pressing himself hard against her back, his head resting on her shoulder. They lay like that, keeping close to each other as they drifted off into sleep.

Starry heard him speaking before she slipped into sleep.

"Starry..." He mused quietly as his eyes grew heavier ", In the end? I love you."