Something Sweet

“Hmmm… Perhaps just a bit tighter…” Rarity used her magical aura to tug at the two loops of a shimmering, fuchsia-colored ribbon.

Rainbow Dash stayed still as the bright orange dress tightened slightly around her waist. But suddenly she took in a huge breath of air and her sides began to convulse in a fit of laughter. This, of course, made Rarity’s ribbon unsteady, and she let go, letting it fall to the ground.

Upon the dress loosening, Rainbow began to laugh even more.

"Whatever is so funny, Rainbow dear?" asked a confused Rarity, still bearing somewhat of an amused smirk on her face nonetheless.

The mare in the process of being outfitted caught her breath. "It's not the dressmaking that's funny, Rare--the dressmaking is...you're great at it, Rare, it's lovely! It's just this whole situation is... I dunno. It was funny."

"Hm... Yes, I can see why fitting can be amusing." observed the fashion unicorn, nodding and smiling at the whole awkwardness from before. Even if they were now considered at least close to being lovers, it was hard in their situation to keep a straight face when someone ties a ribbon around your waist. A classy and ladylike mare and an athletic flier, together working on a dress, in such a situation that seemed so intimate now... It all of course somewhat went downhill in terms of smoothly completing the outfit. But emotionally? They were having fun. More than ever before in a visit of theirs, the joy in the air was close to being palpable. Rarity also got to say that she was making some great progress with new dress ideas.

There stood the pale blue-coated mare, outfitted with an almost finished dress (save for what would be that perfect additional flair of the bright magenta ribbon). It was a short dress, in a bright orange hue that complemented her blue fur, and with a layer of white fabric that jutted out from beneath the orange in characteristically sharp zig-zag edges that gave it an almost intense look. On the border of the v-neck collar were feathers the same magenta color as her eyes, which also matched the decorative bow on her neck and the diagonal stripes around the edge of the dress’s skirt.

These details were also the same dashing color as the ribbon that was to be tied around her waist… But the application of that finishing touch had been halted by the silly (though now at least well-outfitted) mare herself.

Rainbow Dash gradually composed herself and was on her hooves again, sighing and giving Rarity an apologetic look. But Rarity just nuzzled Rainbow Dash’s neck contentedly. The athletic pony accepted the gesture, though she didn’t return it, for she wasn’t quite used to such physical affection.

“So uh… Dress modeling’s fun. Heh,” she began cluelessly.

“Yes indeed. And you look stunning with that outfit, if I do say so myself. I’m just so glad you agreed to all this. Me oh my, how my models tolerate someone fawning over them like this is beyond me, but it is all in good fun. Everyone just looks so lovely all fancied up! I can’t help but get excited when someone agrees to partake in my hobbies.”

Rainbow simply nodded, smiling. Her colorful tail swept along the floor in a more graceful attempt to hide her habit of twitching her tail when awaiting something to happen. She was a mare of action, after all. Anything happening would be enough.

This mare was not one of fashion, either. But by now she knew that these kinds of activities were sacrifices she must make for the love of Rarity. She didn’t find the elegant unicorn’s thrill of the mere look of a nice dress, but Rainbow tried to make the most of it, as she had with the many other dress-designing days that had followed their first date.

That’s how the past few weeks had gone. Trips to the spa, calm walks in the park, visits to Rarity’s house that usually involved fixing her hair or helping with other fashion-related things like this one, were certainly not Rainbow’s favorite hobbies. But if it meant spending time with her girlfriend, strengthening their bond, it would have to do.

Rainbow Dash’s mind wandered back to the few days in the weeks passed that she had spent with this mare so different with herself. Rainbow Dash usually wasn’t one to just stop and think, but all the quiet, still moments within the past month had given her not much more to do without making a rude interruption. There had been calm trots through mostly empty parks, spent observing the birds that flew by gracefully in the near-spring air. Rarity seemed to enjoy this weather—not too cold, but not with blinding sunlight always assaulting her eyes. And she always enjoyed watching the birds.

The two of them would converse about small things like the weather and the birds. But Rainbow Dash was more interested in the big, fast, powerful things that caught her eye. She’d love to talk about something that interested her. More than ever she would like to talk about what it would be like to be a Wonderbolt—not only the thrill and excitement of soaring by and performing all kinds of feats in midair, but the ponies who adored you and watched, wishing they had your aviary skill, and traveling all over to meet interesting ponies like those fans, and just see things all over Equestria that you’d never see before.

But she shouldn’t think of herself. So they trotted around exchanging small talk, and occasionally holding hooves. This was what Rarity liked; this was what Rarity wanted to do, so Rainbow Dash kept it up. Rarity should have what she wanted, Rainbow assumed. And besides, it was nice to see a few other ponies occasionally glance their way and saw how happy they were showing affection as a couple.

A few times Rainbow Dash had noticed how close they were standing, or how Rarity would try to gaze into her eyes to be absorbed by her. For Rainbow Dash, there was no denying she was glad for this exchange of loving gestures. Still, she couldn’t help not knowing what to make of it. So impulsively, she soon found herself heading for the only pony she assumed would understand situations like these.

And that’s how she had found herself sitting in Sweetie Belle’s delicately decorated pink and white room, sipping tea intently in the dim morning light and staring rather at the mare with bright seafoam-green eyes who talked calmly about her newfound friend’s conflicts. It was serene moments like these Rainbow Dash was usually unwilling to endure, yet this was different. To say the least, this was important to her. She wanted to stay, to watch and to listen to what the younger unicorn had to say.

“Well, I’m sure you know,” said the white mare, with a concerned tone. “Just keep doing what you’re doing: be yourself. And be confident about it!”

Rainbow Dash just nodded, taking a moment to glance at the floor with a similar look in her eyes as the one Sweetie Belle bore.

“I-I’m making sense, right?”

At these words, Rainbow looked up and her eyes met with the main speaker’s. “Wha--? Yeah, of course!” Nothing bothering her in life, the blue mare thought. The past month had been going fine. She was just taking a moment to think to herself, a mare who usually only had her head in the clouds when zooming through the clear skies, nonetheless…

“You seem…nervous.” Even carrying that ever slight trace of distress, Sweetie Belle’s smooth voice still carried its distinctive and pleasantly high pitch. “I mean, we’ve gone over this before, and you seemed to understand.”

“I…I know, I… I’m just confused.” Rainbow Dash didn’t like admitting weaknesses, but in the quiet room with increasingly comfortable company, the words slipped out, whether she understood the accompanying thoughts or not. She lowered her neck to rest her clouded head on her hooves, which were crossed on the wooden floor next to a nearly empty teacup.

“Just be open with her, and don’t be afraid to reveal anything that’s...you. She’s your girlfriend, after all. There should be trust, right?”

A nervous glance was greeted by a sweet smile that had been waiting for those magenta eyes.

“There’s no reason to be afraid.”

That had been but a few days before. Rainbow had finished her tea in a swift sip, bid a pleasant farewell, and left the house with conflicted thoughts. Never before had she been so open to another pony so quickly and with so little hesitation. It was no wonder why she’d been coming to that room early every morning for advice, ever since those first few visits sprung by the topic of getting to know Rarity as a significant other.

Not that this new routine bothered Sweetie Belle, who would commonly rise at an early hour to spend some alone time exercising her singing voice, styling her hair or such before Rarity whisked her off to school. Unlike how ponies like Twilight felt about, say, a guest invading on reading time, there was no detected interruption upon this musical mare’s valuable time. Rainbow Dash was always welcome, for although Sweetie Belle had become more of an introverted individual, she never felt the need to shift the solitary mood of the house in these hours. Not only was Rainbow seen as a dear friend, but there were no questions from the pegasus as she trotted in through the door. Sweetie could say what she wanted, she could even say nothing at all, and Rainbow would enjoy the company. There was a rare comfort in visits like these that was unlike in the company of most other friends. Somehow, though they didn’t know each other very well, it was like they understood each other perfectly. They could chat about their lives, sometimes just having small talk, sometimes actually sharing things with each other. Sweetie Belle could even do her regular hobbies, like brushing her hair and singing to herself, and Rainbow wouldn’t say a word of protest or confusion.

And there probably should have been confusion, if Rainbow Dash really thought about things. What was she doing in the room of her girlfriend’s younger sister, who was supposedly nothing like herself, just watching the unicorn go about her personal hobbies, just chattering about who knows what, making unimportant conversations? It wasn’t like her, at least as far as she was known to act. Rainbow Dash was supposed to be an entertainer. That’s how it was to be a Wonderbolt, a performer, and her personality should reflect no less. Always something new to show off. Something to catch their eye. She tended not to go further than to give ponies what they wanted to see, to keep them contented, to keep them interested.

Maybe this time, she as an individual wanted something more than the empty actions she was used to showing ponies.

As selfish as this mare seemed sometimes, this was the one time she wanted something for herself.

Of course, that was not what was on her mind now. Not that there was nothing bothering her now; though Rainbow Dash now laughed carelessly where she stood with company in the boutique, there always seemed to be some problem prodding at her, though seemingly invisible as compared to the other clear and indicated thoughts in her mind. Though the past few days had been lovely as far as she was concerned about her life, something still was not right. But she couldn’t say what, so she didn’t say what. Thus, to her knowledge, nothing was wrong. Especially since she had something to look forward to that afternoon!

Though brief, Rainbow’s moment of thought had covered a lot; perhaps these pondering moments had become even more brief lately with all the practice she’d had just going over the same thoughts in her head. She was tired of all of it. It was time, the pegasus decided, for something new to happen.

“So, what’s next, Rarity? You wanna keep going with this, or…” She shook her appareled front shoulders, indicating she was asking about the dress.

“Hmm, let’s see.” Rarity trotted over quickly to take a gander at the clock in the kitchen, then came back with an announcement. “It’s quarter-till-three.”

It was Rainbow who again laughed, this time softly. “Well, we’ve been dressmaking for a while now, huh?” Rarity came trotting back promptly.

“Oh! Um…yes!” Her voice caught a slight tone of franticness. “You must be awfully tired of standing there and modeling clothing for so long, I can see. I do apologize!”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No, no need to worry, Rare. I was just thinking maybe it was time for us to do… Well… Something that I chose?” She grinned expectantly.

Rarity nodded cheerfully, and began to gently levitate the loose dress off Rainbow Dash’s pale blue body. Rainbow flicked her tail absentmindedly when she once more felt the freedom of being bare of any “fancy” apparel. She trotted closer to Rarity and began to continue the conversation.

“So, uh… I bought some tickets a few weeks ago, and I was wondering if you’d like to come to a Wonderbolts performance this afternoon. I invited Twilight and the girls, too. It’s at 3…”

“Ah! How nice of you, Rainbow Dash; you didn’t have to buy tickets for us! But yes, I should like to accompany you today. It was about time that you be the one to choose what we do together.” She poked Rainbow’s cheek playfully as she spoke.

And with that, Rarity was off to fix up her mane in the spare minutes they had before rushing off to a loud and excitement-filled performance. She was the last pony who had been asked by Rainbow of her willingness to attend. The pegasus knew that most of her friends wouldn’t mind a quick trip to Cloudsdale to watch an event of her own enjoyment like this. Especially ponies like Pinkie Pie would enjoy the cheering, and the rest would probably just be happy to spend time with a good friend (that was another main reason she had gotten the idea of this in the first place). But with Rarity, she had had her doubts. Would this elegant unicorn really want to come along?

Rarity probably wouldn’t enjoy the performance to its fullest, but at least there would be a chance to spend time as a couple, to get to know each other better. This was a part of who Rainbow Dash was, after all. Her passion for flying and watching other ponies fly would be pointless to try to hide. And there was no reason to hide from her girlfriend, either.