Chapters "Alright. Today's the day," Rainbow Dash muttered to herself, a determined smile set upon her face. "The day I prove that I, too, am as worthy of an awesome marefriend as anypony!"
She stood, her hooves firmly placed on the ground, in front of the Carousel Boutique. It was a strange place for a pony like her to be, as typically this was more of a place for customers to enter, and this hotheaded athletic mare, on the contrary, had no interest in fashion whatsoever. However, she had a mission, and she was sticking to it.
Remembering how condescendingly Pinkie Pie had said it before, that "my new girlfriend is the smartest, most talented, most magical pony in all of Equestria, isn't she?" had just made her want to slap that pink mare across the face, whether it be right in front of Twilight Sparkle herself or not.
Though she knew her friend had probably meant no harm in this statement, the pink mare's boisterous actions had shown that Pinkie Pie obviously hadn't made a very good effort not to hurt Rainbow's feelings while shooting her mouth off about Twilight for what had felt to anyone who listened like the 50th time. Didn't she understand what it was like to be alone, to not have anyone to even look to for love?
Why is what my friend said bothering me so much anyway? Rainbow Dash thought. Never mind that, never mind that. She's just being Pinkie Pie. Now she did have eyes for someone, or so she told herself as she made her way down the brick path that led her gradually closer to the ornately decorated door close ahead. When there was only but a few inches between her and the door, she stopped just as an act of habit to, recollecting her thoughts one last time.
She sighed. "Don't be nervous, Rainbow Dash. It's just Rarity."
Yeah. Rarity, she thought, the mare you never talk to. She'd been pushing to the back of her mind that this strangeness of the visit, this awkwardness and nervousness she felt as she approached the abode, was because she had never even developed a particular liking for hanging out with Rarity. She was just going to talk to the mare like usual (she twitched guiltily at what she couldn't avoid noticing to be an unfitting use of "usual"), maybe compliment her here and there, and Rarity was sure to fall for Dash eventually. Then she just had to ask Rarity on a date, which of course would have to result in the awestruck fashionista accepting and accompanying her on to nice (and perhaps a bit formal, as much as she disliked the notion) dinner on the following night. And bam. No more lonely days for Rainbow Dash.
There was a strange sinking feeling in the usually bold pegasus' stomach as she stood in a manner that she'd at least intended to give the impression of steadfast determination. She told herself she was just being nervous, and that that was fine because everyone feels that way before asking out the love of her life. And Rarity had to be the love of her life, right?
Of course. Rarity was stunning, with her intricate curly hairstyle that was sure to have even wowed other hairstylists, and her eye-catching fashion taste, not to mention talent, and that air of elegance that surrounded her, of which all the ponies had spoken. Rarity had been complimented by many a stallion, as Rainbow Dash knew from...well, Rarity's own conversations with she and her other friends. Rarity was talented and beautiful, the pony every pony should know. So there was no reason for Rainbow Dash not to go after such a mare as Rarity.
Rarity, the pony she never talked to.
Elegant Rarity dating Rainbow Dash, the unfittingly messy pegasus who spent most of her free time performing speedy and daring stunts in the sky or reading action books and didn't have a tendency to hang out with anyone but her closer friends like Fluttershy or Twilight Sparkle.
She gulped.
Without another second of self-doubt, she barged into the room, perhaps a bit too boisterously. The bell rattled and rang furiously, causing Rarity to jerk her head up in alarm from the sewing project she had been so concentrated on. Rainbow Dash gave a guilty grin, immediately realizing the startled state that she had brought upon her friend. The already pale unicorn's face expression made her look as if she had just seen a ghost.
Rarity gave a quick attempt to mask her temporary shock with a casual smile. "Oh, Rainbow Dash. It's you." she shut off her sewing machine, took off her glasses with a gentle flick of her head to shake her hair back into place, and set the ruby-red glasses on the sewing table where she had been working. Trotting gingerly over to the doorway where Rainbow Dash still stood, she began her friendly conversation. "Well you seemed to have been quite anxious to get here, weren't you?" The unicorn giggled cheerfully at the feverish display her friend had made while entering. Whatever is the matter?"
Stay cool, thought Rainbow Dash. "Oh, you know me, I'm just... cruising around the sky at rapid speeds, uh, happened to drop by. Friendly visit, y'know, 'cause after all, we..." she was about to say "don't hang out much", but decided to swiftly change her wording to something more welcoming. "...Are best friends!"
"Oh, um...yes." Rarity took an uncertain glance at the floor that Rainbow Dash pretended not to notice. "Well, if you'd like to 'hang out'... I suppose it's always good to spend time with a good friend, now isn't it?" she put on a small smile and began to trot to the other side of the room. A glimmering blue aura appeared around her horn as well as a few other sewing supplies of hers, which hovered around the air as Rarity returned them to their respective places in cabinets and drawers here and there. Some things, like the sewing machine, that she was sure to use again soon after the short visit, stayed put. Rarity was surely a skillful and tidy pony; before even a minute had passed, the room was looking neat and perfectly presentable as usual, save for a rather large scrap of crimson fabric that lay strangely solitary on the pale pink floor.
The piece of fabric, as Rainbow Dash observed with curiosity, seemed to have an odd, unevenly-shaped lump rising from the middle, which was rapidly changing Dash's curiosity into fascination and pure befuddlement as it began to move around as if alive. Just when things probably couldn't get much weirder, it let out a shrill yet somehow soft and gentle giggling sound that even caused Rarity to pause with her straightening up to look over. However, when she observed what her winged friend had seen, her reaction was a simple giggle in the same carefree tone as the one expressed by the mysterious yet apparently friendly lump in the fabric.
Rarity levitated the large crimson sheet from its place on the floor to reveal the body of a unicorn pony just a tad shorter than herself and with a coat of white fur like her own. As the young mare, having recovered from her awkward collapsed position on the floor, jumped to her feet, Rainbow Dash observed the light lavender hue of the mare's slightly thicker mane as well as its pale pink highlights. She also could now clearly see that the mare’s eyes were brilliant sea foam green, unlike Rarity’s immense sapphire blue ones.
“Hiya Rarity! I haven’t seen you in while!” she chirped jokingly.
“Ah yes, I was wondering where you’d run off too, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity replied genially to her little sister, then turning her head toward Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, you know my sister Sweetie Belle, right?”
“Oh, uh…sure.” Sweetie Belle was the one who'd always hung out with Scootaloo, a young mare who had admired Rainbow Dash and strived to achieve similar flying skills since the two friends were blank-flank fillies.
“And I was wondering who you'd been talking to!” Sweetie Belle added, addressing Rarity but looking toward Rainbow Dash. So she’s heard every word I said, the rainbow-maned pony thought. She silently thanked herself for not saying anything to Rarity outside of a friendly conversation that day.
“Why, I was having a lovely chat with Rainbow Dash here, just like good friends do!” said Rarity with a toss of her head, a smile, and a good deal more confidence than she had when they had spoken just a few minutes ago. “We’re going to hang out today, isn’t that right, Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow Dash simply nodded. Sweetie Belle watched them both intently with wide eyes and a cheery smile, glancing back and forth from Rarity to Rainbow Dash every now and then. Tapping the bottom of her chin with one hoof, Rarity now had a thoughtful look on her face. Then her eyes brightened, as she seemed to have come up with an answer to whatever it was she had pondering over. “How does a trip to the spa sound?”
“Fine by me,” replied Rainbow Dash. After all, there wasn’t much else to say, especially with that little marshmallow midget standing by them, watching with those twinkling eyes that nothing seemed to escape.
“Great! Now, before we leave, I must tidy up just a few more things…including my hair. My my, what a mess!”
Rainbow Dash honestly didn’t even seem to notice anything wrong with Rarity’s mane—if that dainty purple weave could be described as “messy” in its current condition, Rainbow Dash’s hair must have been a rat’s nest. Then again, she couldn’t say she hadn’t heard ponies describe her rainbow mane as just that.
“I’ll be back in a minute, girls. Then we leave!” With a wink of her eye, Rarity plodded briskly to her room and shut the door behind her. After the the door was shut gently by her magic, making a soft sound, there was silence.
A pale blue pegasus pony with a multicolored rat’s nest of a mane stood in a vast room in the house of a fashionista pony.
Though she waited for that very pony to come out of her room so they could enjoy a lovely day together alone, she had not a hint of anticipation. They were to go to a spa. Rainbow Dash did not enjoy the spa. Surprisingly, that didn’t wasn't what troubled her. Today, much to the contrary of most cases, she was willing to endure whatever was in store for her and this lovely unicorn lady. After all, it was for a good cause. Maybe it would be a boring day at the spa and they wouldn't get to talk either. Maybe they would end up having a fantastic time altogether in each other's company at the spa. Maybe it wouldn't be a great experience at the spa but the two would end up realizing something special about each other through the time they spent together. There were many possibilities, but no matter what happened, they were to somehow fall in love. That was the ideal ending.
And that was the problem.
No matter how many possible situations ran through her mind almost as quickly as she could fly, she couldn’t see the ideal ending happening realistically.
And so here she stood, one empty heart in an empty room. No wait, she just remembered. There was company here—one other pony. That little mare that Rarity introduced was still here, wasn't she? Trying not to seem too anxious, she slowly turned her head toward the room’s other occupant. Rainbow Dash knew it would be thought of as cruel to not pay the mare any attention, as inarguably overwhelmed with her own thoughts as she was at the moment.
However, her mind was not prepared to think of anything that had no connection to her inner conflicts, like talking to another mare she barely knew. So Dash simply smiled down at Sweetie Belle in the hopes that the little ball of energy would be just friendly enough to start the conversation herself. Surprisingly enough, Rarity’s little sister still had that bright grin plastered to her face. Not that it was unnatural looking, but she had been that way for a while. In fact, she didn’t seem to be talking, or even moving aside from shifting her glance to Rainbow Dash’s direction. She kept staring like that. Nothing was being said.
Rainbow Dash sighed eventually. She was going to have to say something herself.
“So, how’s it going?” came her general conversation starter. The words were void of emotion as they slipped from Rainbow’s mouth. The sentence she uttered was a mere filler of the silence, but at least it felt good to make some sort of intelligible sound in that wide open space other than the constant rustlings coming from Rarity’s room as she found various ways to tidy.
“How do you think it’s going?” Sweetie Belle replied playfully soon after, unintentionally squeaking on the word “think”. Her goofy smile was now a toothy grin that was honestly starting to creep Rainbow Dash out just a bit.
“Well, you do seem awfully happy.” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, beginning to show signs of being at least slightly intrigued by the conversation that was picking up. “Heck, you’ve been staring at me with that same smile for like a half hour. Snap out of it, will ya?” She hadn’t meant to seem so brusque.
But Sweetie Belle didn’t seem to notice, much less mind. She carried on with her own conversation, a casual and not overly excited tone at last settling in her voice. “I was just studying your awesomeness. Er, maybe that’s not the right word for it. Scootaloo has never really been good with words. But that’s the main one she uses to describe you. She talks about you a lot. So I was looking at you and trying to decide how good she is at describing you.”
“…And?”
Sweetie Belle put on a thinking expression and tapped her chin with her hoof in a similar fashion that Rarity had before. “And maybe I wouldn’t say ‘awesome’… Well, I don’t use that word often, I guess.” She looked right at Rainbow Dash and thought for a second, but not with a particularly perplexed look. “I don’t know you very well, but you seem like an interesting pony, at least.”
Rainbow Dash giggled weakly. It actually felt nice to hear a compliment from a young pony like Sweetie Belle, especially with all the worrying she’d been doing lately. She smiled at the young mare beside her. “Oh, really? I might say the same about yourself. Why do you say that?”
“Well, for one thing, Scootaloo never said anything about you enjoying a trip to the spa. But here you are all ready to go!”
“Oh…well, this is…different.”
Sweetie Belle gave Rainbow Dash a confused look. “What do you mean, ‘different’?”
“Y-you know…” she looked back at Sweetie Belle’s curious face that continued to stare at her as if it would help her find an answer, and decided that maybe this younger mare wouldn’t know. No, she wouldn’t understand the whole situation if she explained why she had come here. “I just wanted to try something different.”
“Oh. I see.” Sweetie Belle nodded, giving a convinced-sounding tone though her expression said otherwise. “I was surprised when I heard it was you talking to Rarity, since you two don’t talk much. Trying something new does feel weird; I guess that’s why you seem so nervous, huh?”
“What? Nervous? …Oh, uh, right. I have a big flying competition coming up soon, and I heard there are gonna be a lot of awesome flyers there. Just got a bit nervous is all.” She lied again. Did you hear that? She thought. Even Rarity’s sister knows you don’t talk to her often. There’s no way any of this would have worked, she realized. Her hope for her own initial plan began to gradually slip away.
“I know that feeling.” Sweetie Belle remarked casually. “I was really nervous before our act at the talent show a few years ago.”
“Our…?”
“The Cutie Mark Crusaders! We had a talent show act a couple years back. We made up an awesome theme song that Scootaloo sang. Apple Bloom did most of the dancing. I made the props and costumes. We weren’t any good at what we chose to do, though. In the end, it was a disaster, really.” She giggled upon remembering the event. “Anyways, I was really nervous before we went on. But, hey, if you follow your heart and you find just what you were meant to do, you’ll realize that there’s never a reason to be nervous to be yourself.” As she grinned proudly, the little white unicorn gazed down at something Rainbow Dash had overlooked before. Adorning her flank was a symbol that appeared to be a black music note dotted with a pink heart that matched her mane. Sweetie Belle had her cutie mark! Rainbow Dash was shocked that she had forgotten about this until now.
“Guess that’s how you got your cutie mark, huh?”
“Yep! And I know that’s how you’re gonna win that flying competition! By not being afraid to be yourself!”
Rainbow Dash was touched by the sheer amount of confidence that this young mare had in both herself and the blue pegasus she seemed to have only just met. For the first time since she saw Sweetie Belle that day, Rainbow Dash smiled at her. It was a real smile, nothing forced for the sake of Sweetie Belle’s happiness, but an expression of Rainbow’s own genuine happiness. When she had entered the Carousel Boutique that day, she had felt nothing but worry, doubt, even a bit of guilt for what she had prepared to do. But Sweetie Belle made it so humbly clear what the problem was without even realizing it. This wasn’t what Rainbow Dash was meant to do. She wasn’t being herself. She didn’t love Rarity, and she couldn’t force herself to even if she tried.
As she came to her senses for what very well may have been the first time that day, she realized that she couldn’t even force herself to go to the spa if she didn’t want to. And with a friendly goodbye to her new acquaintance, she left the Carousel Boutique not even remembering that Rarity was still in her room, tidying like a clean freak.
A mass of eager ponies poured out of the door of a somewhat larger school building as a loud bell sounded in the otherwise mostly quiet town of Ponyville. Among them were three young mares trotting leisurely outside on a fine autumn afternoon. One was a yellow earth pony with a simply styled and only slightly puffy red mane along with a tail of the same type that had a large pink bow tied around the base. One was an orange pegasus with a now slightly longer but still somewhat jagged magenta mane that was mostly straight in the back but curved upward at the very end. The other was a white unicorn by the name of Sweetie Belle, who was in a cheerful and carefree mood as usual. Unlike the other young ponies who rushed to get home, these three friends, formerly known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, had a tendency of taking a little stroll together on their way home from middle school and making friendly conversation as they went.
"Ugh, it's so chilly out here!" the bright orange pony remarked, shaking her wings as if she could somehow fan away the cold air alone and leave her feeling warm once again.
"Yep. Autumn is in the air." Sweetie Belle smiled, turning her head toward the earth pony to her right. "And cider season, too. Isn't it, Apple Bloom?"
"Yeah. I hope we can make enough cider this year for everypony. That includes Rainbow Dash. Ever since she got a taste, she's been asking for almost as much cider as that crazy Pinkie Pie! And y'all know her tendencies."
"Hey, at least Rainbow Dash deserves the cider!" the pegasus pony defended, straightening her posture as she spoke. "I mean, all Pinkie Pie does all day is sing ridiculous songs and bounce off the walls and shoot her mouth off! Rainbow Dash uses her cider as fuel for her awe-inspiring flying stunts! You gotta let her have some this year. Even if she does ask for... a lot."
"Well, I'll see what I can do. Y'sure are mighty fascinated by Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo. What does that pony do that interests you so much?"
"Well, her flying of course! I thought you knew this, Apple Bloom."
"Well yeah, but is there anythin' else you admire about her? I mean, what does she even do other than fly?"
"Well, I don't get to see her too much; she's kinda mysterious that way." she replied casually, shrugging, before continuing to describe her hero in further detail and with more enthusiasm. "But other than that, she's just a... really rad pony. She's brave and tough and confident, and she isn't into all the girly nonsense that all the other fillies at our school are. Heck, I bet if she was forced into a fashion store, she'd just Sonic-Rainboom right out of there before anyone could stop her!" she laughed, clearly glad that the conversation had turned to a subject that was of such fascination to her.
That's funny, thought Sweetie Belle. Rainbow Dash sure hadn't Sonic Rainboomed out of Rarity's boutique when she had visited just the other day. Of course, she recalled, the athletic pegasus who was Scootaloo's role model had come there to spend time with a good friend. At least, that's what she had said. But then, why was she such a good friend of Rarity's in the first place? If what Scootaloo said was right, Rainbow Dash had no interest in fashion or anything related, for that matter. And it sure seemed like Scootaloo was right from what Sweetie Belle had seen of Rainbow Dash's actions. Not to mention Scootaloo rarely ever supplied her friends with inaccurate information regarding Rainbow Dash. She actually downright doubted that there could be anything wrong with what Scootaloo had said. So why did it conflict with everything that had happened just a few days ago?
Sweetie Belle decided to have her questions answered for herself. She looked at her flying friend with narrowed eyes. "Are you sure that's right?"
"What?"
"All you said about Rainbow Dash. I mean, you said she's confident, right?"
"Super confident! And why shouldn't she be, when she's the fastest pegasus in Equestria?"
Sweetie Belle looked at the dirt road below her hooves. Scootaloo had a point.
"Well, doesn't she ever get nervous before a flying competition or something?"
"I doubt it! Why do you ask? Did Rainbow Dash tell you she was nervous? She's probably just messing with you; I heard she can be a real prankster too sometimes. Hey, does this mean you actually got to talk to Rainbow Dash? Golly, that's awesome! I mean, I know we're sisters and all, but she doesn't actually give me all that much attention, what with always being busy practicing her stunts, and the fact that she just talked to you openly..." But Sweetie Belle's attention had long strayed away from the thoughts of Scootaloo's simple rant, as she had her own thoughts that wouldn't leave her mind. She continued to puzzle over them as she and her friends made their way down the path that was leading to their own homes and gradually thickening with more and more trees as they went on.
Eventually Apple Bloom arrived at her house and parted ways with her friends, and Sweetie Belle realized she would be at her house soon as well. She continued nonetheless, nodding every now and then as Scootaloo still jabbered cheerfully by her side. All throughout the walk, she was stuck with two questions in particular that just wouldn't let go, prodding at her attention like a hummingbird in pursuit of the nectar from some mysterious yet strangely beautiful flower. What if Rainbow Dash wasn't just some over-confident, flashy, high-flying superstar like Scootaloo and so many others perceived her to be?
What if she was more than she seemed?
Sweetie Belle lifted her head slowly as her thoughts began to re-assemble, and directed her vision away from the deep brown patch of ground that for so long had captured her empty stare but certainly not her attention. Her mind at last caught up with her eyes in the task of returning its focus to her accustomed surroundings. And it seemed it had been just in time, for even though not much time had passed as it had seemed to her in the few short moments of the afternoon, the young mare, quickly observing the vivid blue sky and green grass along with the few houses scattered about separate from the trail upon which she plodded with the familiar pegasus, realized that she was almost home.
As her the elegant little building that was her home came clearly into view, she turned to her friend and gave a heartfelt "Well,-I-gotta-go-now,-but-it-was-nice-seeing-you-today" smile, the kind that the three friends always exchanged before they returned to their homes. Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty even as she performed this kind gesture. After all, Sweetie Belle had barely held a conversation with Scootaloo this whole time they had walked. Not that their chats were normally anything particularly enthralling or deep, especially considering how short their trips were, but she felt almost as if she had downright ignored her buddy this time, no matter how accepting Scootaloo had been in response.
"Hey, Scoots." she said after thinking it over for a moment, and gave an eager grin. "You think maybe you'd wanna come over my house tonight?"
"Oh wow, really? I'd love to! You sure Rarity's okay with it?"
The cloud-colored pony held a hoof close to her mouth as she let out her signature giggle. "Nope! But I'll go ask her; I'm sure she won't mind." With that, she skipped off to the door and let herself in. After Scootaloo had spent a brief minute or so waiting outside among the few amber-colored trees scattered a short distance from the Boutique, a peppy unicorn made her return, springing out from behind the door. She delivered her triumphant news. "My sister says you're allowed to stay here tonight!"
"Awesome!" Scootaloo replied, and after the agile mare followed Sweetie Belle in scurrying through the entrance, the two young mares were welcomed into the Carousel Boutique by the pleasant and ever so generous Rarity.
The evening proceeded with the two friends finding many ways to enjoying each other's company. They showcased their talents to each other; Sweetie Belle sang a captivating melody to Scootaloo, and she in turn wowed Sweetie Belle with her graceful skating abilities. There were also attempts from both of them to perform the other's special talent, which failed miserably and instead resulted in fits of laughter from the two of them. They drew pictures together, some of which they agreed to hang up in their old clubhouse (which they still sometimes used as a place to hang out as friends even after acquiring their cutie marks).
Of course, they talked as well, and this time Sweetie Belle listened to and considered every word that Scootaloo said. They talked about simple things like school, about how they enjoyed or disliked the autumn, about silly things they recalled doing in the distant past, about things that happened in school not long ago, and things they expected in the future. Strangely enough, it felt like the first conversation that Sweetie had had with Scootaloo in ages. It must have had something to do with the way she just stopped thinking about what she was going to say for the most part, and just talked. For once she simply spilled out her thoughts and ideas to a someone she felt she had been able to relate to since they first met so long ago. After all, there was no reason for hesitation; she was just being herself as she spent this lovely evening with a friend, taking a break from those troubling thoughts that had clouded her mind earlier.
At last, the evening turned to night, as all evenings do. That also meant it was time for the two friends to go to bed, for much as they didn't want to end their day, Rarity knew very well that all mares their age were expected to get to bed early in order to wake up bright and early to return to school the next day. Thankfully, Scootaloo was allowed to stay overnight, and Sweetie Belle offered her a spot on the floor of her room and a sleeping bag that she had reserved for such occasions. After they had settled in and prepared to go to sleep, Rarity entered the room briefly to say goodnight to the girls and flick off the lights. When all was still and quiet, Sweetie Belle began to nod off to sleep, her mind filled with fresh memories of a simple day spent with a good friend.
As she traveled through the air on her way to her cloudy home not far from Ponyville, a quite different mare recalled her recent visit to her pegasus pal's animal-abundant cottage. Though she was a wild pegasus with a bold and daring nature in contrast to Sweetie Belle's reserved disposition, she had quite similarly pleasant thoughts as the previously mentioned unicorns. Both of these ponies were indulging in their carefree thoughts involving a day spent casually chatting to and spending leisure time with an old friend. It's good to take a break from the stress and overwhelming fascinations of life, they thought. Sometimes we have strange connections to people we have never met, and we just aren't aware of it. Most of the time we never even find out, but they remain nonetheless.
In a way, you could even say they were quite similar ponies. But not in terms of their hair. Unlike Sweetie Belle with her curly and mostly neat little mane, the pegasus soaring through the darkening night sky did not keep her hair tidy. In fact, it was still a rat's nest.
The next few days passed like leaves blown by the wind, quiet and insignificant but still there without a doubt. Of course, that day at the Boutique did change things, but the changes were small and soon seemed to settle in, just as they came, without any commotion. Rarity had surely been perplexed upon discovering Rainbow Dash’s unannounced exit that day her friend had come to visit, but asked no further questions after having the entire incident explained to her by Sweetie Belle to the best of her ability. Though Rainbow Dash imagined she must have been quite confused, Rarity didn't seem angered or offended by what happened, and actually acted no differently than she normally would have the next few times she saw that particular friend of hers.
Rainbow Dash hadn’t worried too much about finding a marefriend in a while. She hadn’t worried about anything in a while, really. The days were blank, uneventful, her mind clear of deep thoughts. She did her daily tasks with the weather team, and spent her free time taking leisurely flights through the crisp autumn air, or giving Fluttershy and her animals a visit, or reading an adventure story at Twilight's library. Some nights when she dropped by, Pinkie Pie was there as well. However, Rainbow Dash was pleasantly surprised on multiple occasions when Pinkie Pie didn't go on her usual rambling about her marefriend. She was glad to finally enjoy some peaceful time with a few old friends without being pestered by the constant notion that she still didn't have a special somepony. Things were back to normal, and Rainbow Dash treasured the feeling for as long as it could last.
That didn't turn out to be very long, though, as it became clear to her one night when she decided to return to the library once more. She had been in the middle of a novel with a plot that wasn't quite as compelling as most, but nonetheless was quite intent on finishing the book. She had taken a flight down to the library, a bit later than usual, hoping that Twilight wouldn't mind her unexpected visit--they were friends, after all. The librarian pony had been surprised when she arrived at such a late hour, but not unpleasantly so. She simply let the mare inside and allowed her to settle down with the story she had been looking for.
All was well as Rainbow Dash slouched on a pillow against the wall, turning the familiar pages of the book propped up on her crossed legs in front of her. Though after nearly an hour of steady reading had passed, her mind began to stray from the world within in the pages of the book. She looked down at her pale blue legs, which she was surprised hadn't fallen asleep within the time they had stopped moving, and stretched them a bit. Then she moved her head around in little circles, trying to get the kinks out of her neck. As she raised her head, she looked ahead of her and noticed that Twilight Sparkle was no longer sitting with her book in the clearing where she'd been when Rainbow Dash had begun reading. Confusion turned to curiosity, and soon, after setting the hardback book on the floor, an uncertain pegasus was once more up and plodding across the room.
"Twilight?" she called after she had taken a few steps forward into the wide room. She turned her head one way, then the other, scanning the area for the purple unicorn from whom she still awaited a response. When she found nothing but the tall shelves of books that regularly occupied the room, she turned to her left and after a few more quiet steps proceeded up a flight of wooden stairs against the wall. She didn't often enter Twilight's room, so naturally she felt a bit guilty as she was about to do so now, but her friend couldn't have strayed far from her original setting without informing Rainbow Dash in advance. After she reached the top of the staircase, she approached the door and gingerly pushed it so that it swung open. Luckily it hadn't been locked, which made Rainbow Dash feel a bit better about what felt like a bit of an intrusion.
The room that she entered was one she had never seen before. It was a wide room, though perhaps not quite as large as the others, with wooden walls that were in certain places covered by bookshelves that resembled the ones all about the other rooms. Many books lined these shelves, though some lay scattered about the floor, a sight Twilight probably wouldn't have wanted many other ponies to see. Upon the chestnut-colored floor was a pinkish, round-shaped rug. The room had a quiet, peaceful stillness to it. At the time Rainbow Dash was unsure whether to be relieved or worried by that, but it didn't really matter since she soon found what was to be her reassurance that all was safe. Or at least, Twilight was safe, there beside her bed lying comfortably on the ground with a cobalt blue blanket draped across her back. Rainbow Dash smiled warmly at this sight. At least, that was until her brain processed the observation that Pinkie Pie was under the blanket as well, snuggled up close to Twilight and holding onto her hoof.
Pinkie Pie, Twilight's marefriend.
Rainbow Dash didn't have a marefriend.
In that moment, all of Dash's worries from before that she had managed to forget for the past week came tumbling right back to her. Pinkie Pie's gloating about her delightful relationship. Rainbow Dash's determination to find a girlfriend herself. Her attempt to ask out Rarity. The downright failure of the event.
The constant loneliness that nagged at her, though she could never admit it, whenever the word "marefriend" entered her mind, and the events that had triggered these rotten feelings of regret so long ago.
And her friends were here sleeping peacefully as if nothing was wrong in the world, not even in the mind of this pegasus who they were sure they knew so well.
Maybe, she thought as she watched them doze off in their carefree manner, it would be best to leave them be and take her worries elsewhere, somewhere they weren't so out-of-place. This wasn't her house, after all. Even if Twilight had allowed it, it was wrong of her to have come to visit at such a late hour when her presence had certainly not been expected in the first place, she thought. Turning her back to the still snuggling pink and purple ponies, she prepared to exit the room. Though her intention was to leave silently and surreptitiously, her first few steps were a bit clumsy rather than graceful and smooth motions like she had planned. Though the sounds of her hooves hadn't been awfully loud, and she did manage to regain her balance for the most part, in her frantic attempt to do so and make her escape just as well she had overlooked a book that lay but a few inches before her stumbling hooves. The result of her blind continuation of the short yet somehow perilous journey out of Twilight's room resulted in a collapsed heap of a blue pegasus who soon lay, disoriented and with a stubbed front hoof, on the floor. So close to the door she had been before the fall, and yet so far.
She lay there for a few seconds more, too weak at the moment and in too strange a position to want to move. For a second she was almost convinced by her own thoughts to simply giving up on the hassle of getting up and escaping at all and instead remain at her exact position and simply fall into a deep sleep like the one into which Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie had already slipped. A rustling sound that emerged behind her, which she assumed to be the mentioned mares shifting around under their blankets as they began to awaken, soon convinced her otherwise. She flailed her limbs, apparently in some sort of attempt to get up (though it didn't really appear as such).
A yawn came from one of the ponies behind her, followed by a well-known voice that seemed to clearly express concern in spite of sounding tired. "Rainbow Dash...Oh, Rainbow I'm sorry!" Unseen to the mare to which she spoke, Twilight Sparkle hopped up and trotted briskly to Rainbow Dash's side. The winged mare still lying on the floor turned her head so she could see her friend, who continued in a tone that now sounded rather uncomfortably confused. "Wait, how did you get there on the...ground?" After studying the scene more closely, she blinked twice and gave a troubled look at the obviously inanimate little green book that lay slightly behind Rainbow Dash's back legs. "Oh...right, the...books. I'm sorry about that--I really should be more careful with the...ugh." With an interruption of a silent yawn entering her speech, Twilight rubbed her eyes, not yet having fully awoken from her nap.
"Sorry, I...hadn't realized you hadn't left before. Sorta just snuck upstairs with Pinkie Pie and started to read. We were going to go back downstairs and eventually see you off, but we lost track of time. You know, you're just as welcome to leave when you please as you are to drop by." Twilight grinned at Rainbow Dash, who had slowly gotten herself back on her hooves while she listened to Twilight Sparkle's explanation for her disappearance.
"Nah, are you kidding? Don't be sorry, Twi. It's my fault for coming over here so late. I mean, who wouldn't be tired by now, er... well, even by an hour ago?"
"Actually, I'm normally able to stay up this late. I guess I've just been staying up too much trying to squeeze out ideas for friendship letters lately..." Even though Twilight was a princess now, her journey of learning about friendship didn't stop. She rubbed her foreleg with one hoof as she spoke, then giggled. "Then there's Spike, who doesn't seem to ever want to go to bed at a decent hour. I have to explain to him that it's not exactly encouraged to stay up at crazy hours like mine even if he were doing something productive with the time."
"I think you're forgetting that he's not exactly a baby dragon anymore... " Rainbow Dash chuckled at Twilight's over-protective sisterly nature. "But still, it's not a good idea for anyone to stay up later than they should. That includes you, Twi, friendship letter or not."
"I guess you're right. I can finish writing the letter tomorrow," she said as Rainbow Dash began to turn to the door, getting ready to leave but still listening to last few things the librarian had to say.
"If you're still stuck for ideas, how 'bout... 'Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned that it's okay to say no to your friends if you need to, as long as you're not being rude. Spending time with friends is important, but it shouldn't have to interfere with your sleeping schedule.'"
Twilight laughed again. "I'll think about it." Rainbow Dash winked, then they said farewell, and after Rainbow Dash thanked Twilight Sparkle for the visit, she made her way out of the library.
As she walked through Ponyville, her eyes swept around the vicinity. Though her surroundings were darkened by the night, they were mostly familiar. It made her smile gratefully as she took in the view of this small town before spreading her wings and embarking on her trip back to her own home in Cloudsdale.
As she flew, with her wings flapping and the immense grayish-looking clouds zooming past her up in the starry, navy blue sky, she thought about Spike growing up, and about friendship letters and Princess duties, she thought about the new animals Fluttershy had found and Applejack’s preparation for cider season, and all of the things that were happening in her friends’ lives that she could have been thinking about in the time she had spent worrying about something silly like getting a marefriend. And simply because she didn’t have the particular desire to, she didn’t spend too much time wondering about Rarity that night.
Rainbow Dash awoke peacefully, slowly rising from the plush cushion of her cloud-like bed. As she slipped out of bed and into the mostly blue room surrounding her, thoughts regarding the events of the previous evening began to re-assemble in her awakening mind. What possible conflicts awaited her today?
It very well could have been because she was tired and not quite yet thinking straight, but strangely enough she could only think of one thing.
After eating a quick breakfast, Rainbow Dash had stretched her wings and soon found herself making her way out of her room and embarking on a new flight on her way to Ponyville. Though she hadn’t taken note of the exact time it had been when she left the house, she could see that it was unusually early, as she observed from the dimly-lit, gray-tinted sky that had not yet been brightened by the sun. The flight was quick and effortless, or at least it seemed so in the moments she spent gliding by, her mind only occupied by a few small thoughts here and there. She honestly wasn’t sure how she had woken up so early in the first place, as there usually was nothing that compelled her to do so until the nonstop screeching and rattling of a particular alarm clock gave her no other choice. But since she had some spare time, she did what her own thoughts compelled her to do.
Soon she the un-crowded town square of Ponyville came into view below the pegasus mare, and she continued flying for a little while until the landscape cleared of trees and buildings a good deal. Looking quite regal standing alone in the vast field of grass was the ever so elegant Carousel Boutique. Rainbow Dash began to descend toward the soft ground beneath, then made a smooth landing as she reached her destination. The Carousel Boutique was not far before her, and she approached the building with haste. After last night, she had realized the importance of making things right to this unicorn she had wronged such a while ago. She was tired of feeling so lonesome and, as of recently, ignored. She needed things to be the way they had been back then, instead of having this awkward soft of silence enveloping them whenever the two ponies met. Once again, they needed to be… friends.
At the very least, she added quickly in her thoughts.
She swung the door open carefully this time, so as not to make too much of a noisy disturbance in Rarity’s diligent work. But when she saw the room that surrounded her, Rarity was not working like usual. At least, not the way Rainbow Dash had often seen her. Instead she sat, without her typical perfect posture, at a large wooden desk, staring down at a large piece of sketching paper that was spread out before her. Though her face held an expression that seemed to be one of concern, she didn’t seem to be focused on the paper at all. That could be part of why it was blank, despite the pencil she held at the ready with her horn’s magical blue aura. After taking a moment more to sit still and stare blankly despite the doorbell having rung seconds ago, she reluctantly raised her head to look toward the awaiting pegasus who stood in her doorway.
“Oh, hello there, Rainbow Dash,” she said, rising from her seat and beginning to trot forward with a fake-looking smile. “What might you be here for today?”
“Well, um…” Rainbow Dash began, glancing at the floor for a second and rubbing her foreleg. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for just running out of your boutique a few weeks ago when I came to visit. That was really rude of me. Definitely not cool.”
Rarity blinked. She stared. Unknown to Rainbow Dash, her mind began to wander. That strange event had happened so many weeks ago. It was supposed to have been forgotten, yet evidently it wasn’t. Sure, it was certainly a strange happening from what she had heard from Sweetie Belle, so it could be expected that Rainbow Dash would want to apologize for something that caused such confusion to a hopefully good friend of hers. But it was done and over with, so they were supposed to move on, weren’t they? Why was it being mentioned now?
Though she had many questions buzzing around her head, Rarity realized she had to quickly give some sort of response to her friend. And though she would have loved to ask a question with the possibility of receiving a more meaningful explanation for all of this, there were just too many things she needed to ask about. The more she tried to think of something simple to ask, the more questions emerged from that one inquiry. So instead, with little thinking, she blurted out something too simple to possibly cause further confusion. “Oh, that’s okay, Rainbow Dash.” She tried to think of something to add on to that, reassuring her that it was understandable for her friend to suddenly leave the way she had, but then again no sensible explanation could be found for such actions.
“Is that all she had to say?” thought Rainbow Dash with much confusion. She had honestly expected more of a response from Rarity. Wasn’t she at all interested in why Rainbow Dash had run off with no explanation? Wasn’t she going to ask about it? Part of her was hoping that she would ask something, anything. Maybe expecting the fashion pony to be more talkative in this situation was a huge misjudgment. Perhaps she really didn’t know Rarity after all.
“Well, I guess that’s all I really had to say,” said the pegasus with the multicolored mane, who slowly began to turn toward the direction of the door once again. “Please, please, please, ask me something, anything. I need to talk to you about this. I need to feel that this has really been resolved.”
But despite Rainbow Dash’s desperate mental pleading, Rarity made no such response. Instead she stood, dumbfounded though not showing it, attempting to somehow decipher what might have been going on in the mind of the troubled mare before her, but to no result other than the further confusion of herself. As Rainbow Dash began to inch toward the door, the only sound that Rarity was able to utter was an unusually lackluster “bye”. Her friend gave a small smile, swung the door open and exited.
The door shut quietly behind her.
Rainbow Dash stood outside the Boutique a few moments longer, dwelling upon what had just happened (or rather, what had not just happened) before deciding to just move on and go home. Though not satisfied with the response she’d gotten from Rarity, she had better things to do than mope about it. At least she had done her best to apologize; there really wasn’t much else to do about it at the moment. She spread her wings out and was about to begin a new flight, when something in the distance caught her eye. But it wasn’t something , it was somepony . As she soon realized, there was a white unicorn with a wide smile bounding along in the direction of the building Rainbow Dash had just exited. And the expression on the unknown pony’s face almost made Rainbow Dash want to smile, too, because although she did not realize at first, she vaguely recognized this short-maned mare. After all, no matter how distant a friend may be, aren't they always a welcoming sight for those who are feeling lost?
Well, Rainbow Dash was at least experiencing a somewhat comforting sight. But the eager, lavender-maned filly named Sweetie Belle didn't focus her eyes toward the path before her to see the mare standing in the distance until she came so close to the brilliantly blue pegasus that she was scarcely a bound away from colliding with Rainbow Dash. Luckily, she stopped in her tracks just before that could happen.
"Woah! Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed. "Sorry, I almost bumped into you! Why didn't you tell me you were standing there?"
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but giggle at the outburst of this suddenly startled mare. "I figured you'd notice me here sooner or later," she replied almost smugly. "I guess it turned out to be later."
"Well, I didn't really expect you to be hanging out outside Rarity's house. Can you blame me?"
"Yeah, you're right..." Rainbow Dash glanced sideways with a painful look, suddenly recalling those few days so long before that she had spent with her old "plan". Winning Rarity's heart had been such an unlikely feat for the talented flyer that it had proven to be almost impossible. She sighed as she absentmindedly continued. "Guess I don't give Rarity much attention, do I?"
Noting the discouraged tone in the pegasus's voice, Sweetie Belle immediately expressed concern. "Aw, I'm sure it's not your fault. You're a good pony. You do what you can. But Rarity doesn't always want to hang out with other ponies. You're just... different, that's all." She smiled, and Rainbow Dash couldn't help but admire her abundant sympathy.
"I guess it's different, though."
"...Different?"
"I..." Rainbow Dash's voice trailed off. She didn't know where to begin. Maybe the best place to begin was the start. But the question then was, would Sweetie Belle really understand all she was told if she was told everything?
Would it be worth it? She wondered. Rainbow knew she had to talk to someone about what had been bothering her sooner or later. She couldn't just keep it bottled up inside, especially since she didn't know what to do about all of it. And there was no one else to talk to, or at least no one who would understand the way Sweetie Belle would.
Rainbow Dash could tell even after such a short time of knowing Sweetie Belle that there was something in her that made her just...different from the others, so different from her friends she had known so long. It had always been true that Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack would listen to what you said, but Sweetie Belle would take every word you said and treat it as if it were a fragment of some work of art, showing her endless empathy by solving the problems so simply, and yet so flawlessly. There was just so much feeling in everything she did. She wasn't a super smart kind of pony like Twilight. But she knew that Rainbow Dash mattered as a pony, even being a pony Sweetie Belle hadn't known for very long, and that was what made Rainbow Dash feel so special. Sweetie Belle had something...something that Rainbow Dash couldn't define, that she might even say she admired.
"It's kind of a long story, but... if you wouldn't mind staying to listen... " Rainbow Dash looked up from briefly staring at the ground and noticed that Sweetie Belle still stood not far before her, looking straight into her eyes. There were no words spoken from the white-furred unicorn's mouth. She simply stared knowingly, as if to say "I'm here to listen--go on".
It was time for the truth to be spilled. Rainbow Dash began, bracing herself for the worst.. "I know it sounds stupid, but I've been visiting so much because... I wanted to be Rarity's marefriend. I... I've been alone for years ever since my old girlfriend left me... You see, she was a good friend of mine ever since we met way back in flight school." Rainbow Dash had broken her stare with Sweetie Belle to gaze up at the sky for a moment of pensive nostalgia. "And she was never bad to me, either. She was always there when I needed her, so when she asked to be my girlfriend, I couldn't help but accept. I don't know what happened, really, but one day, we just..."
Rainbow Dash's voice cracked, and she quickly turned her head away from Sweetie Belle to hide the tears that enveloped her eyes as she recalled the memory of the very moment she lost her dear Gilda. It had never occurred to her how long ago the painful event had actually happened, since she had hid it away in the back of her mind for all those years. To think that all of those years Gilda hadn't been replaced by Twilight Sparkle, or Pinkie Pie, or even Rarity! But of course, Gilda simply couldn't be replaced. After all, she was the one who had spent every day by her side, the one who laughed with her during good times and helped her through the bad, the one she could talk to about anything... but then Rainbow Dash had made that one mistake and thrown it all away.
“Rainbow Dash, I do love you. I think you’re rad, and geez, I gotta say I adore everything you do. But it’s not just that. I care for you with all my heart. I would do anything for you, and I don’t know if you know that. I want you to understand how I feel, but I don’t know if you ever will. Can you ever really understand, Rainbow Dash? Have you ever known how it feels to truly love someone?”
Those words were some of the last words that Gilda had said to Rainbow Dash before the fiercely loyal griffon finally left her side forever. They were also the few lonely words that had refused to leave Rainbow Dash’s mind for the past few days.
"One day, we started talking and... she asked me if I loved her. I said of course I did, but she didn't think I understood. She kept trying to tell me that what she felt was different from what I thought it was. It seemed like she was really worried about it. I told her it was fine, but from then on, it wasn't the same, and... we just started to drift apart... "
The two mares stood there in silence for a few moments afterwards, looking at the ground and glancing around occasionally, just taking in the conversation that had partially unfolded. Then Sweetie Belle looked up at Rainbow Dash once again. There was now a serious sort of look on her face, but a warm and understanding expression within her eyes, one that at the same time one seemed to plead for an answer to a question that was yet to reveal itself.
And then it did reveal itself. In a soft voice, she asked,
"Was it true?"
Rainbow Dash's opened her mouth, struggling to find the words to reply. She had to swallow before finally continuing, though her voice quivered slightly. "W-was what true?"
"Did you love Gilda?"
There it was again. It was something Sweetie Belle did that none of Rainbow Dash's ever seemed to be able to do, and she had just done it for the second time since Rainbow Dash had met her. Somehow, she could say one almost painfully simple sentence that made Rainbow Dash rethink everything that she thought she had been so sure about for the past few weeks. Sweetie Belle gave Rainbow Dash a new perspective on things, opening up her eyes to things she never had even considered before. It was as if she had some special vision that made unseen things suddenly visible, like a sort of magic that she didn't need her horn to use.
And suddenly, Rainbow Dash wanted to know how this magic worked.
She wanted to know how Sweetie Belle worked these wonders that changed her world. She wanted to take a look into Sweetie Belle's mind, to see how she thought these fascinating things. She needed to know how this unicorn could understand so many ponies without even really knowing them.
Rainbow Dash wanted answers.
But of course, she knew Sweetie Belle still awaited an answer for her own. So to let her work her magic, she told her what she needed to know.
And that was...
"I don't know."
Sweetie Belle stood, pawing the ground with her hoof and bearing a perplexed expression. She had just asked Rainbow Dash what she had thought to be a simple question, to which the pegasus’s response had been “I don’t know”.
Needless to say, Rainbow Dash was struck with confusion as well, but mostly all that she felt at the moment was a guilty sense of nervousness. What had she said that was wrong?
“You…” the unicorn finally began, breaking the silence. “You don’t know?”
“Oh, uh…no.” Rainbow Dash responded, perhaps a bit too swiftly. “I mean…” Seeing Sweetie Belle glancing at her with a confused look, she felt as if somehow she knew what that young mare was going to say. But for whatever reason, she couldn’t quite process the thought at the moment, so her mouth remained silent and Sweetie Belle spoke instead.
“Rainbow Dash…” she slowly moved closer to the pegasus with a sympathetic smile. “I understand what’s wrong.”
Rainbow Dash twitched, her feelings clashing uncomfortably. Her sudden doubt of anything she had trusted made her sensitive, unsure if she should be grateful or offended by this sudden claim of understanding from a mare she only knew so well. “Why?” she defended with an involuntarily sharp tone. “Have you ever been in a relationship?”
“No, but I know you’ve been in one, and I can tell that something was wrong with yours.” Sweetie Belle managed to keep a calm tone as she spoke. “Something that never really let you go. Tell me. Did you really need Gilda?”
“I…I didn’t!” she burst out, her voice ringing with guilt. Suddenly Rainbow Dash felt awful for not realizing that this young mare was trying to help her, for instead mistaking the ever-considerate helping hoof as some unwise assumption of authority. “So why does it feel wrong to be alone? She’s gone now! I never loved her, so I never cared, didn’t I?”
“That’s not true. You wanted to love her, Rainbow. But you couldn’t.” Sweetie Belle smiled at the bravery of her distressed friend who was trying her best to fight tears. “You can’t force things like this, you just gotta follow your heart.” She placed her hoof on top of Rainbow Dash’s heart as she said this.
Rainbow Dash nodded, looking down at Sweetie Belle’s hoof and then into her welcoming green eyes. “I… I cared about Gilda, I did.” Sweetie Belle nodded as Rainbow glanced away to wipe her eyes and continued. “But I guess I only really stayed with her because she was the coolest friend I had, and there was nothing else to do.”
As her eyes swept about behind her, Rainbow Dash’s attention was briefly caught by the dazzling appearance of the Carousel Boutique.
“…But dating someone who’s cool doesn’t necessarily make me cool. Love doesn’t care about those sorts of things, right?”
Sweetie Belle nodded triumphantly.
“R-right! So I’m going to go and do what I’ve wanted to do all along. Just following my heart, right?” The determined mare turned, ready to begin her short trot back in the direction of the Carousel Boutique.
Sweetie Belle nodded, though showing slightly less confidence this time, and trotted slowly toward the familiar building after her rainbow-haired friend. She wasn’t quite sure what Rainbow Dash’s motives were here, but she had to get back home some time, and she wasn’t about to butt in front of this pony at the last second.
It doesn’t matter if Rarity’s ‘not my type’, Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she held out her foreleg and pushed open the door of an intricately-decorated and elegant building. She casually trotted in a few steps, allowing Sweetie Belle to run inside from behind her as the doorbell let out its usual pleasant chiming.
“I’m home!” Sweetie Belle announced with energy, before giving a quick hug to the busy unicorn at a sewing table and dashing off (still wearing her saddlebag) to do some homework. Her sister’s small greeting had broken Rarity’s concentration from her work, and she looked up to notice that athletic blue pegasus standing in her home once again.
Rarity took off her glasses again and set them on the table ever so elegantly. Just because she’s different from me doesn’t mean that she’s not an admirable pony, Rainbow Dash told herself as she studied the fashionista’s brilliant sapphire eyes, trying to bring herself to adore them. She’s skillful, she’s beautiful, see? Don’t doubt yourself. Rarity began to approach Rainbow Dash with a confused look that almost reminded her of a look she had seen on someone else’s face that day.
“Hello, Rainbow Dash. Is there…anything I can help you with?” inquired the pony with the curly purple mane.
Just follow your heart, Rainbow Dash suddenly heard a soft and caring voice say. But when she looked around her in alarm, there was no one to be seen but Rarity, standing just before her. Brushing off that odd happening the best she could, Rainbow Dash recovered and continued.
“Oh! Yes. There’s something I forgot to tell you,” she said. The pegasus mare laughed nervously, and then swallowed in attempt to recover her serious approach. “Um, Rarity… I would like to ask you… There’s something I… I’d like to ask you quickly…”
“Whatever is it, dear?” Rarity said, using an impatient tone to try to hide her blatant curiousity.
“Raritywillyougooutonadatewithme?”
There, Rainbow Dash thought with relief. She had said it.
Rarity’s expression told her that perhaps she had said it too fast. She sighed and repeated her hopeful question, more slowly this time. Still, the look on Rarity’s face barely changed.
“I’m…terribly sorry, wh…what do you mean?”
Rainbow Dash sighed, trying to gather her thoughts without taking too long. “What I mean is I, uh, I really admire you, Rare. I have for a long time and I thought, um… Well, you know, you’re smart and you’ve got great sewing skills and a nice personality and I just think you’re a really pretty pony. I’ve felt that way for a while now, and I thought I’d finally let this out… So whaddaya say?”
Rarity stood there for a moment, not sure what to say.
If it had been any other moment, she probably would have burst out in a fit of anger and confusion upon realizing what had just happened. It was crazy. Had her Rainbow Dash, a kind friend though she rarely had so much as a friendly stroll with her, just asked her on...a date? With the spa incident, she had been ever so confused. Rainbow Dash's invitation to one of Rarity's favorite pastimes had seemed to her like a way for the Pegasus to reach out to her as a friend. But then, she ditched her. Was it because Rainbow Dash realized she didn't want to participate in this activity, or had she lost interest in her friendship altogether? Rarity thought that maybe it was just a mistake, that their had been something else important that Rainbow Dash had planned that happened to be that same time. But now, after all of that...a date? With all of the things this mare had just said, did she just express desire for a romantic date? Was this Rainbow's way of apologizing?
Rarity almost downright didn't know what to say. But Rainbow's apology must have been a good one, because there was that something that made the unicorn reply with, “Why… of course, dear.”
It was a well-known fact that Rarity couldn’t refuse a compliment anyways, but what made this compliment even more meaningful to her was that (confusing as it was) the pony who had given this compliment wasn’t even really her type. It was those few clumsy yet kind words stumbling out of the sky-blue mare’s mouth that had opened her eyes to a whole new view of the situation.
After what had happened concerning their plan for a spa trip, maybe Rainbow Dash wasn’t that careless after all, Rarity thought. Rainbow had always been the one to only express disinterest in all of Rarity’s hobbies and interests and passions, only to dismiss Rarity’s hopes and dreams for her own. Rainbow's greatest desire was fueled by the rush of the wind through her mane as she flew freely, and though in their hearts the two mares had startlingly similar intentions that wouldn’t be difficult to discover if they ever just took the time to sit down and talk, to really talk. Of course that time never came. But perhaps that wasn't for the reasons Rarity had thought. Maybe rather than avoiding Rarity, she had been afraid to approach her because she felt this way.Truly, that wild-spirited pegasus must have really been quite a humble pony to say such kind things to her on that day. As she considered it, she realized maybe there wasn’t any harm in giving this pony a chance.
“So, uh… Is lunch time tomorrow fine? At the Ponyville Café?”
Rarity gave a cheerful “mhmm”, nodding her head.
“Thanks!” was all Rainbow Dash could think to say as she gave an almost awkwardly wide grin, said a proper farewell and… well, dashed off.
* * *
Rainbow Dash entered her room accompanied by the pleasant new knowledge that she was no longer alone. She realized that she wouldn’t have to life her life as a lonely mare, constantly fretting over being left out of a wonderful relationship. Now that she had a marefriend, things were finally going to return to the way they should be, with no awkward interruptions from the expected happenings of her life. And at last she had eliminated something that had somewhat distanced her from Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle before.
Pinkie Pie. Twilight Sparkle. Her friends. As she plopped down on her bed, Rainbow Dash wondered if she should tell any of them about what had happened between her and Rarity that day. No, she decided, there was no reason to announce a relationship that had barely begun to unfold. She would just wait and see how things went tomorrow. And maybe the next day.
On days like these when Rainbow had the time to relax for a while after cloud-busting, her thoughts would rarely be organized. She simply let her guard slip and allowed some time for her mind to drift along in whatever direction it happened to take through the twists and turns of her mind. Today, they didn’t seem to leave the memories of what she had asked Rarity earlier that day. The events before the sudden visit, awkwardness of the invitation. She also recalled with disappointment during this moment that she had never taken the time to thank the one who had given her the courage to let this all happen. But most of that disappointment was clouded by the excitement that currently engulfed her. Rainbow Dash couldn’t wait for the day that was to come.
How should I act tomorrow? She wondered. As would be expected for a mare going on a first date, this was one of many questions that surrounded her while her mind wandered. But of course Rainbow wasn’t one to stress herself out with the responsibility of planning ahead, and before she knew it, she was dozing off.
* * *
Rarity’s idea of a perfect date was a good deal more formal than what Rainbow Dash had planned for that day. If she had thought about the date beforehand, Rainbow Dash might have realized that if it was Rarity she was going out with, this date probably should have been more than just some casual lunch date. Then again, Rainbow Dash wasn’t a mare known to think much beforehand in any situation. Rainbow Dash liked to get things done right, and she liked to get them done when they needed to get done. But that wasn’t usually hard to do, she thought, since whatever ideas she came up with on the spot were almost always the right ones.
…Right?
As Rainbow Dash stood in the beaming sunlight and leaned on a small, round, purple-painted table outside the café that was quite well-known in Ponyville, she briefly considered whether her choice in restaurants had been the right one. But upon noting that it was now too late for a change of plan anyways, she let her mind dart forward to the next subject. And that was…
The idle pegasus stopped and thought. Actually, she didn’t stop or think; she hadn’t been doing anything in the first place other than standing around and perhaps looking around a few times to see if Rarity had arrived, and her mind was blank except for that constant awareness of her surroundings that she carried with her on a usual basis. Rainbow Dash just took a few seconds to do nothing, as she had been doing every now and then between her little moments of thought ever since she took her place near the table.
There was really nothing to do now but wait, she realized, and she was running out of interesting thoughts to occupy her. She would rather have been at least remotely involved in something interesting that was happening right then and there than try to dig up something from her dusty memories. The typically active pony made what must have been the first of many sacrifices made for her new girlfriend, Rarity. Sitting and waiting wasn’t much of a sacrifice, in all of reality, but compromises like this were something Rainbow Dash had a hard time coping with, stubborn pony she was.
At last, a new figure entered her view. A stunning white unicorn with an ever-so-delicately curled purple mane could be seen moving toward the spot outside the café where the pegasus pony stood waiting eagerly. Soon the easily recognizable Rarity stood at the other side of the table to face her date, smiling with an excited look. Not having considered stopping to think of a nice compliment for this occasion, Rainbow Dash was simply relieved to see the pony she’d been waiting for. She greeted her with a genuinely cheerful tone but an almost painfully casual manner.
“Hey, Rare! It’s good to see you.”
“Hello, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity responded.
Good, Rainbow Dash thought. Things seemed to be off to a good start. Her girlfriend was here and seemed happy, which made her feel similarly. Of course, Rainbow Dash was also very hungry. She did realize there must have been much more patient waiting to be done, so that’s what she tried to do.
She glanced about her surroundings again: the multiple chattering ponies sitting or standing about near their own individual tables in the grassless area outside of the little white-and-green wooden building that almost resembled a cottage, and the bright, mostly cloudless sky that stretched above. There was nothing interesting going on, and the poor pegasus soon found herself bored. Patient waiting was not her strong suit. Rainbow’s father had always told her ‘you’re not bored, you’re just boring’. But in this case there truly wasn’t much that she could do to make things interesting. What was there to talk about?
The first idea that came to mind in an awkward situation like this was to make a friendly joke to see how the conversation would go from there. “It’s funny that they call them waiters, you know? Because… we’re the ones doing the waiting here. Heh heh.”
Rarity nodded, seeming mildly amused. Her smile couldn’t help but strike Rainbow Dash as a bit awkward, though. They weren’t getting anywhere in their conversation. Rainbow Dash decided that must have been just because her joke was really lame, almost like a joke Rarity might make while trying to entertain the adventurous pony while working on a gala dress for her. Rainbow didn’t tell her that, though; while the jokes were sometimes cheesy, she wouldn’t want to offend the caring fashion designer. It wasn’t that she truly disliked Rarity’s talkative manner, of course.
Besides, Rainbow Dash told herself, she might learn to find it lovable.
“It’s… really nice weather, isn’t it? The sky’s lookin’ pretty clear…” Rainbow Dash began again, changing the subject to something that she was familiar with: weather. Suddenly she realized that hadn’t been a good decision—what had been an honest attempt at finding something simple and everyday to talk about had seemed like an attempt to change the subject to something centered toward her. And while Rainbow Dash couldn’t deny she liked attention, she knew this wasn’t the time for it.
But Rarity spoke before Rainbow Dash could fix her wording. “Yes, the weather is looking quite lovely today. I see you’ve done a good job with clearing the clouds just the right amount as always.”
“Y-yeah…uh, thanks. So how are things going with you?”
“Just wonderful, darling!” she didn’t seem to be making an effort to start a conversation. Rainbow Dash couldn’t blame her, she realized with guilt, after the pegasus’ poor choice of words.
“How’s the, uh… fashion business going?”
“Oh! Well… It’s been a bit slow as of lately, but something’s telling me things are probably going to pick up soon.”
“Oh, really?” Rainbow Dash said with only partially faked interest. “Tell me about it!”
“You see, my friend Bon Bon—You know Bon Bon, right?”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, she’s the curly-haired one who bakes the sweets, right?”
Rarity nodded back with a bright smile.
“She’s a nice pony,” Rainbow said with confidence, gradually feeling relieved that she at least knew something significant about this unicorn.
“Oh, certainly! And she has been ever so kindly spreading the word of my fashion sales to other ponies around this town! In fact, she claims a pony she knows named Twinkleshine has seen a bit of my work with dresses, and that she has some relatives in Canterlot who she thinks might possibly by interested as well!” her sudden excitement faded into a dreamy sigh. “It’s finally going to happen—my business just may be fit for Canterlot ponies.”
“Wow, Rare, that’s great news! I’m surprised I hadn’t heard this from you before now!”
“Ah, yes, but isn’t it simply divine? Hopefully someday soon the conditions will be right, and I’ll be able to pursue my dream of becoming…” she giggled as she recited well-known old saying of hers. “That pony everypony should know.”
Rainbow Dash smiled warmly at this fond memory. “And maybe I could help you when that day comes.”
“Oh. Y-yes…” Rarity trailed off. Her tone wasn’t exactly hesitant, nor did it express repulse, but she seemed surprised at the pegasus’s sudden commitment, despite this friend of hers being known for being the element of loyalty. Rainbow could have sworn she saw that ever-so-slight, ladylike blush appear on Rarity’s face.
Before the conversation could pick up again (it might have been a good thing that the conversation had been interrupted, since chances are it would just collapse again), Rainbow Dash and Rarity noticed a cream-coated stallion approaching them. It was the refined Horte Cuisine, with a slicked-back, gleaming, royal blue mane and a moustache of matching style and neatness. Standing before the two unlikely marefriends, he awaited their request.
“Oh, um…good morning!” Rarity smiled sheepishly at the waiter, then looked over at Rainbow Dash.
“Do you know what you’ll be having today, Rarity?” the pegasus asked. Not that there was much purpose in asking that question anyway. This café was such a common spot for them to have lunch, these two needn’t even pick up the menus to know what they wanted to order.
“Yes, I will have a fuschia salad, please.”
“And grilled hay sandwich for me. Uh… please,” she added, trying not to forget her etiquette.
The unicorn stallion walked off nodding and swiftly jotting down their orders on a clipboard. Rainbow Dash and Rarity watched him go, until their eyes gradually drifted back to the table where they sat.
“Yeah, anyway…” Rainbow Dash started the conversation again. “I’d love to help you with dress designing, y’know?”
“You would?” Rarity looked surprised to hear this.
“Well, yeah.” Rainbow had originally meant that as purely a demonstration of how she cared for Rarity, but she just went on with what she was saying, trying to make it sound natural. Rainbow found a shocked reaction like that especially unpleasant, as it reminded her of how unintentionally rude she’d been in showing disinterest in Rarity’s fashion business in years passed. “I’ve always found the thought of designing dresses a bit cool, in its own way.” In Rainbow’s mind, there really wasn’t anything “cool” about dresses.
What was she doing?
“Wow…It’s just, I really wouldn’t have guessed, no offense,” she relaxed, and sighed comfortably after saying this. “Ah, it’s just so surprising how much we have in common after all, and I never would have guessed if we hadn’t just sat down and talked!”
“Yeah…” Rainbow Dash said, her voice trailing off.
She looked at Rarity, then sat in the silence once more, with nothing more to add. The conversation had nowhere left to go. After Horte Cuisine eventually arrived to deliver their order, the two new marefriends began to eat, making an effort to chat a little in between with a friendly attitude.
“So,” Rainbow started when they were both done and Rarity had been called to attention while in the middle of wiping her mouth daintily with a napkin. “How about after this we head to your place, to have some dress-designing time?” She suddenly realized she should lower her voice and try not to seem bossy to the lady. “Uh… I mean, is that okay with you?”
But there was nothing to worry about. “Sure!” chimed Rarity. The pegasus guessed that her fashionable friend wasn’t used to ponies casually asking to partake in her own favorite hobbies. And as she recalled, she had requested it in her own, overconfident nature. So for now, Rainbow was assured that she wasn’t hurting Rarity’s feelings.
But what was she getting herself into?
“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.
