Forever and Always

Rarity

Thud.

I am breathless, exhausted, and afraid to open my eyes. The mouth at my neck releases and kisses gently over the place still stinging from the bite.

I do love it when she bites.

I hear a raspy chortle.

Well, this isn’t going to be good for her ego.

I open my eyes. Yes, we are in Fluttershy’s room. The bed is oriented properly to the wall, and I don’t believe I’ve knocked anything over. All pieces of the bed, as well as myself and Rainbow Dash appear to be in tact. All told, a very successful relocation.

The lips move from my shoulder up my neck to my ear, sending delicious shivers down my spine. Rainbow nips my ear playfully. “Good job.”

“Thank you darling.”

She nuzzles me and says, “Let’s go talk to our mare now, k?” It’s the most confident and comfortable she’s sounded since this entire debacle began.

“Yes, let’s.”

We get up and walk down the stairs again. Fluttershy is in the kitchen again, apparently making tea and a salad for the little white creature that is now hopping about in a most disgruntled fashion.

I turn my attention to the seating arrangements. Fluttershy has a couch and two comfortable armchairs, as well as a small table. I levitate the whole arrangement slightly closer together, giving a more intimate feeling, and take a position on the couch.

Rainbow settles in beside me and asks, “You just rearranged a whole living room in a second, why would moving the bed be such a problem? I don’t get that.”

She started asking questions about magic about a month after our first date. She came to the boutique to nap on my chaise lounge during her lunch hour. I truly thought she had been asleep for several minutes when she asked if it was difficult to keep so many things in the air at once while being focused on the task at hoof.

I hadn’t thought about it before, and trying to think about the answer to her question caused me to drop all the items I was holding magically. Explaining that by holding multiple items I saved the time of having to disengage and reengage each one took several attempts. The conversation devolved in a rather confusing mess until a thought occurred to me.

“They are like weapons,” I explained. “Each tool I hold simultaneously is like a weapon at the ready. When they are put down, it is as though I’ve put them back in the armory and cannot use them until I take them out again.”

“So, it’s just like organizing your arsenal for an attack?”

“Precisely.”

I can’t help but smile at the memory.

“It’s because I don’t use teleportation nearly as often as levitation,” I say in answer to her question as Fluttershy enters the room with a tea tray on her back. I take the tray in my magic and bring it to the little table, which gets a blush from my pink maned love. “Levitation is a fairly routine bit of magic for almost any unicorn. Even Sweetie Bell can manage it without setting things on fire most days. Teleportation is far more complex, so many more things can go wrong with it. For example, I could have put Fluttershy’s bed in the floor rather than on it, and then we would have had to fetch Twilight to correct the problem.” Fluttershy lets out a peep at that thought. “Which is why I intended to simply levitate the bed up the stairs rather than teleport it prior to being attacked and forced to magic against my will,” I finish giving Rainbow a teasing glare.

“Totally not sorry Rares. I knew you could do it the whole time.”

I’m surprised to see Fluttershy’s small nod of agreement. “Don’t you think I’ve forgotten your accomplice in the matter either,” I say to her. “You could have helped me.”

Rainbow starts to speak, but Fluttershy gets her quiet words out first. “I- I could have, but I knew you could do it too. Plus, watching Dashie make you squeal was kinda fun.”

Both pegasi giggle and look at me proudly, as if I performed some great feat of magic. “Considering you’re both friends of the Princess Twilight Sparkle and have personally met the other three princesses of Equestria, I would have thought it would take a bit more to impress you.” I say with a laugh.

Fluttershy’s countenance falls a bit. Rainbow nips my neck again, “Humble looks weird on you, Rares.”

There’s a squeak from Fluttershy’s chair. “What was that darling?”

“Self-deprecating,” Fluttershy says gently correcting Rainbow.

“Yeah, what she said.” Rainbow chimes.

Fluttershy is still hiding behind her mane. Her eyes casting about. “Darling,” I ask. “Have I upset you?”

“No.” She pauses, then huffs. I see the determination from earlier come back in her face. She raises her chin and says, “Yes. Rarity, you are a gifted unicorn. I’ve seen you teach Twilight magic she didn’t know before, which isn’t the point. It’s not some competition between you and Twilight. You might not be able to do all the magical things Twilight does, but can you imagine what would happen if Twilight tried to design a couture gown?” That gets gentle laugh from all of us. “My point is that you are talented. It upsets me to hear you talk as though you aren’t, just because somepony else can do more magic than you. Dashie’s wrong. Humble does look good on you. The few times I’ve known you not to be humble have had devastating outcomes. Like that time you fell out of the sky and almost died. When you are most truly yourself, you are both confident AND humble AND beautiful. And that is why I love you.”

Rainbow Dash

Flutters turns on me before I get a chance to feel disappointed that she just told Rarity she loves her. “And you, Dashie. I love you, because you aren’t humble- most of the time. You’re insecure and you cover it with confidence. I’ve loved you since the day you saved me from those bullies and got all of us our cutie marks. You never let anypony see you feel weak, but you’ve let me see. And I know you’ve let Rarity see, and that’s why I think this is going to work, because I love both of you too.”

Rares and I just look at each other. I’m about to take off the couch, when one yellow hoof raises and sets me back down.

“We still have a lot to talk about though,” Shy says quietly.

Oh, right. I thought we’d done all the serious, squishy talking for tonight. Guess not. That’s cool. Why is it cool? Because Flutter-freaking-Shy just said that she loves me! And! Hold onto your hats Wonderfans- She loves Rarity too! This is going to work! Parts of it are still a hurricane sized mess, but it’s going to work!

Rarity reaches and sets her hoof on mine. She’s literally shaking with excitement too.

Be cool Dash….OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh!

Fluttershy

Look at their faces. They are so happy. Maybe we should just talk later.

No. Talk now. …. Other things later.

Right. I need to focus. They love me. I love them. We can talk about the rest quickly and then-

What?

And then live happily ever after.

EEEP!

Ok. Here I go.

Rarity

I am trying to focus. Truly, I am. Fluttershy is obviously about to say something very important. However it’s proving to be utterly impossible. I feel awful. My shy sweet darling is building herself up for whatever she wants to say, but my mind is filled all kinds of wonderful, lurid, happy, romantic, perfect, images. Rainbow Dash is vibrating next to me, quite nearly hovering off the couch with excitement. This simply won’t do.

At the exact moment Fluttershy tries to take a deep breath and begin the speech she’s been working on for the past few minutes, I interrupt her. “I’m so sorry darling,” Fluttershy tucks back into her mane at my words. “Would you mind terribly if Rainbow and I took just a moment?” Fluttershy looks confused and a little scared. I purposefully keep my tone sweet, controlled, and diplomatic. “You see sweetheart, I completely agree that it is very important we three continue to discuss and work through things, and you clearly have a few things you need to say. The little problem I’m running into is that you’ve just old me that you love me, and you love Rainbow Dash, which is everything I’ve been dreaming of for ages. So, if I’m not much mistaken the ability to actively attend to the very important things you want to say and we need to talk about for both Rainbow and myself would benefit greatly from just a few minutes of excitement. Would that be alright?”

I felt Rainbow nodding throughout my little speech. “Yeah, what she said,” she adds. “Please Shy? I just gotta blow off some steam, so we can do the mushy stuff. Please?”

Fluttershy’s expression has moved from confused to amused. She’s looking at us like we are two foals that can’t wait to open their presents at Hearth’s Warming, which is exactly how we’re acting. She gives an agreeable nod accompanied with a hoof telling us to wait a moment.

“Think I should brace myself?” She asks. We both nod exuberantly. She smiles settling a little deeper into her chair. I grab a blanket and levitate it over to her, just in case she feels the need to burrow. Each passing second the happy and excited energy between Rainbow and I is growing. If Fluttershy doesn’t get settled quickly we might explode.

Finally, the yellow pegasus gives us another nod.

“Yeah?” Rainbow confirms.

“Ok.” Fluttershy says. “I’m ready.”

Rainbow takes off at the same time a shower of non-flammable sparks erupts from my horn and I jump off the couch to the floor. There is a whirlwind of multicolored cheers, intermingled with my completely unladylike squeals and the sound of my hooves dancing across the floor. Then I’m swept up by Rainbow for several laps around the room. She lands and puts me back down.

Our eyes meet and I let off another interior safe firework, as Rainbow begins a rather impressive rendition of Twilight’s Yes! Yes! Yes victory hop around me. If Pinkie Pie were here, this is where the second party canon would sound, and the musical number would commence. Instead, those ecstatic magenta eyes meet mine. There is a second of stillness and shared understanding. Fluttershy might not appreciate what’s about to happen, but there’s no stopping it.

Rainbow gives me half a second head start to launch myself across the room at Fluttershy, even with the head start Rainbow almost reaches her first. Gratefully, Fluttershy’s scream is one of delight not fear. We’ve knocked her chair over, so she’s on her back on the ground. I am wrapped around one side of her, and Rainbow is on the other, with her wings wrapped around me as well. We are covering every available inch of yellow (except for the mouth) with a barrage of quick kisses mingled with excited exclamations.

“Yes!”

“Darling!”

“Awesome!”

“So happy!”

“Waiting and waiting!”

After full minute or two of this treatment, which elicits many a laugh, giggle and elated squeal from Fluttershy, the energy wanes just a little bit. The kisses slow and become much more lingering. Rainbow’s wings pull our little pony pile together a little tighter. At that same moment, I’m softly kissing and nibbling on an incredibly soft and sensitive ear, I watch Rainbow plant a kiss just below Fluttershy’s jaw, and I feel both of our hooves reach to stroke sensitive yellow wings. The shudder that runs through the petite yellow frame at our combined touch is almost too much. Once again, Rainbow’s eyes meet mine and we have a moment of instant understanding.

Later.

Wandering hooves slow their journeys and we all relax. Rainbow reaches for my hoof, and lifts her head. We share a brief kiss across Fluttershy’s barrel.

“She said she loves us!” Rainbow whispers excitedly.

“I know!” I reply in kind, and we both squeal in our own way.

There’s a little cough bringing our mutual attention to Fluttershy’s face. Her turquoise eyes are brighter and happier than I have ever seen before. She doesn’t even blush when says, “I like it when you two kiss.”

She giggles at our reactions. “And that both of you just raised your eyebrows at me.”

We turn to each other, and it’s true. We’ve each raised a rather suggestive eyebrow. With a laugh I lean and kiss Rainbow a little more deeply playing it up just a little for Fluttershy. I’m rewarded with a delightful little gasp.

I break the kiss, kiss Rainbow quickly on the head, and return to my place on the couch. I watch as both pegasi stand and try to get control of their wings. Rainbow gets hers pinned against her sides first. She kisses Fluttershy quickly on the cheek and then comes to join me on the couch with a dopey grin on her face.

I can’t help but shake my head at her. She’s grinning, because she know that little kiss made it even harder for Fluttershy to calm her feathers. “It’s not nice to tease,” I say as she nuzzles into me. The only response I get is a kiss on my neck, just below my chin that sends a delightful chill down my spine.

So, Fluttershy and I have that in common.

I catch Fluttershy eyeballing her chair as if she’d rather not sit there. “Would you rather sit with us?” I ask starting to move to create a space for her.

She blushes and says, “No. Well, yes. But no thank you, Rarity. I think I’d better stay over here for now.” The meaning behind the words makes all of us blush.

Fluttershy settles in, closes her eyes briefly, takes the deep breath I interrupted, but doesn’t start talking.

Fluttershy

They are being so patient. I kept saying I wanted to talk more, but I don’t even know what I want to say. It’s good we’re having this quiet time though. Watching them kiss again was….exciting. I’ve always liked watching them kiss, but I always felt guilty about it. Now, I don’t have to. That’s nice.

Wait, I do get to watch them kiss, right? Maybe that’s what I needed to talk about: rules. Rules would be helpful.

“I think I’d like to talk about rules,” I say.

They give each other a quick look. It’s strange to realize that I’m going to be a part of something that already has so much history; they can just look at each other and understand. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do that. I mean, maybe with Rarity, but Dashie and I….

Eeep. They’re staring. Did one of them say something?

“I’m sorry, darling,” Rarity saves me as usual. “What I meant to ask was: what sort of rules would you like to discuss?”

“Well, the two you of you have been together so long, I guess I was wondering how you want me to fit in. I- I- I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s quite alright, darling. You bring up a good point. Rules can be an important and helpful safeguard in any relationship, but most especially in a triad.”

“How would you know?” Dashie interjects.

“Do you suppose that Twilight is the only one that does research?” Rarity retorts, but not in an unkind way.

“Oh yeah,” Dashie says nuzzling Rarity’s neck. “My bad. So, what kind of rules do your fancy books say we should have?”

“Well, different sources have different approaches. All in all, I believe that the best course is the one we chart ourselves. That said, most recommend open communication, a clear understanding of the group dynamic, and if that dynamic is evolving then some discussion of that intent. I believe we covered many of the emotional aspects of our situation earlier, and what Fluttershy is asking about now is logistics. Is that accurate?”

I nod. I like listening to Rarity talk. I know they’ve told me over and over that they’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but knowing that Rarity took the time to do research about it makes that seem more real.

“Do you have any questions you’d specifically like to address, Fluttershy?”

“Umm- sorta. Well- you’ll be sleeping here tonight, because of the storm, right?”

Rarity nods and says, “That was our intention originally, yes. Is that still alright with you, Rainbow?”

Dashie has a wing draped around Rarity. That nervous look is back. I want to tell her that she doesn’t have to stay; the storm is still raging outside (although I haven’t hardly noticed with everything that’s been happening inside), but I’ll be fine. I want to tell her that, but I also want to give her the chance to speak for herself. I like that Rarity will fill in the gaping silences for me, but Dashie usually speaks for herself. So, I wait, trying not to hide in my mane. I don’t want her to feel like any answer is wrong.

After a long time, Dashie says, “Yeah. It’s cool with me. Can we just… keep it cool for tonight?” The last words are mumbled into Rarity’s shoulder. Rarity lets out a bell-like giggle then looks at me. I’m blushing furiously, but I nod.

“I think we can manage that, my darling,” Rarity says kissing Dashie’s head.

I’m about to ask what exactly Dashie means by ‘keep it cool,’ but she answers the question before I can get it out. “Flutters is going to have to get a bigger bed. Being super cozy will be cool for tonight, but some of us need space to wiggle.” Her voice is too cool. I know her well enough to know that, and to be grateful.

“I think it’s a bit early in the relationship to be demanding furniture, Rainbow,” Rarity chides.

“No, it’s ok,” I whisper. Then I look at Dashie, “Thank you.”

She nods knowingly, “Sure thing, Shy.” I didn’t thank her for agreeing to sleep in my bed. I thanked her for telling me something she normally wouldn’t have. I wonder if Rarity knows. She’s smiling at me while stroking Dashie’s forehoof. She knows.

Ok. Next question.

“H- How do we do this? How do we...become more?” I ask.

Rarity thinks about that for a minute before answering, “I believe we should date. I think Rainbow Dash and I made a serious error in judgement when we began to assume that would be an unnecessary step in the process because of all the time we spend together. What do you think?”

“I think that sounds...nice.” I don’t mean my usual nice, or the nice I used to describe my gala dress when I was feeling disappointed about it. I mean that it sounds wonderful, like a dream come true. I mean that it’s all I’ve ever wanted.

“Yeah, dates sound good,” Dashie says.

“In the materials I’ve read, several emphasized the importance of nurturing all the relationships in a multi-pony arrangement. For our purposes, that would mean my continuing relationship with Rainbow, which will be separate from my relationship with Fluttershy, which will be unique from the relationship we three share, and of course the two of you have your connection to maintain separately from me as well.” The more Rarity talks, the more I can’t help but think that all sounds really scary. She must see my ears flat against my head, because then she says, “It does sound a bit overwhelming all itemized out like that, but as I’ve thought about it I’ve realized that in many ways it’s a very familiar process for all of us.”

“You really think so?” I ask.

She nods with a smile. “Isn’t that essentially what we do with our friends? You have your own relationships with Twilight and Applejack independent of Rainbow Dash or myself, just as Rainbow Dash spends time with Pinkie, just as I have spent time with you.”

That’s true and it makes a lot of sense.

“So,” Dashie says. “Basically, there’s going to be two-pony dates, and three-pony dates.” She and Rarity have talked about this, so it isn’t a question. I appreciate the simplicity of her explanation though, and I’m glad she’s talking. She was so quiet while Rarity and I talked about everything earlier.

“Precisely,” Rarity says.

“Ok,” I say and then brace myself for the question I’ve been wanting to ask for such a long time. “Wh- when?”

Rarity giggles, but then she looks at Dashie who nods. “Fluttershy would like to go on a date with me some evening next week?” I know my “yes, please” only sounds like a squeak, but she understands and smiles.

I could sing! I’m going on a date with Rarity! She asked me on a date, and she and Dashie both seem happy about it. Dashie relaxed the second Rarity asked, and smiled a real smile all the way up to her eyes when I said yes. Ooo, I’m so happy!

“So, remember how you two needed a minute to be excited earlier?” I ask with a small smile. They both nod. “Can I have a turn?”

“Do we need to brace ourselves?” Rarity asks with a laugh

“Maybe.”

“Seriously?” Dashie asks laughing too.

I nod.

They lie down on the couch wrapped around each other, and Rarity covers them in the blanket I used earlier. Rarity kisses Dashie on the forehead, “Ready, darling?”

“Ready! Have at it Flutters.”

I close my eyes and breathe, focusing just on the idea that I really get to go on a date with Rarity and it’s ok with Dashie. I sway and hum back and forth in my seat, but that’s not enough. I open my eyes and look around the room at my various animal friends in their cages. They’ve all been so good tonight, and so patient with being locked up while I’ve dealt with all of this. They’re peaking out at me now, questioning.

I get up and skip over to the cages on the wall humming to myself. As I open the doors, I tell my friends: “She asked me on a date! Can you believe it?” They chatter and buzz in an excited response. I go to the other wall and let out those friends too. I feel a song coming on, something along the lines of the one I sang the day I hit the ground.

Finally, I open the closet door and let Harry out. He scoops me into the biggest bear hug, because he’s a bear and that’s how bears hug. It’s wonderful. It’s makes everything feel so real. When he puts me down, he goes over to the couch and scoops up Rarity and Rainbow Dash at the same time.

I’ve started skipping and singing a wordless song. All my friends are twittering and chirping along with me. Rarity is making a sound somewhere between shrieking and squealing, and Rainbow Dash is laughing at her and at me.

My song rises to its crescendo and the fades into blissful humming. My friends seek out their snacks and food bowls. Harry gives my mares one more squeeze before putting them back on the couch and returning to the closet to sleep, and I go back to my chair. Rarity’s giggle and Dashie’s shocked expression are absolutely priceless.