Forever and Always

Rainbow Dash

I know better than to just land right in front of Fluttershy’s door, so I glide slowly down into the meadow where Tank likes to play hoping to see him on my way up to the cottage. As soon as I touch down I see his wrinkled green head pop up, and he turns to smile at me. I few beats of my wings and I’ve got him swept up in a hug.

“Hey buddy! You seen Fluttershy anywhere?”

He gives me a gentle snap and inclines his head toward the cottage, then looks up to the sky.

“Sorry boy, no flying today. Maybe tomorrow, ok?” I hold him away from me and drop him to the ground. He sucks his little limbs into his shell before he hits the ground spinning.

I have the coolest pet ever.

He pokes his head out and grins.

“Good draw little guy,” I saw rubbing him on the head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Then I take off at a trot toward the cottage. Angel is outside eating a flower bush I know Fluttershy has told him to leave alone, but I don’t say anything about it, so he ignores me.

I almost knock on the door at full volume, but catch myself just in time, and barely let my hoof tap against the wood. I still hear a soft and panicked, “Oh my goodness” from inside the house, but at least she hasn’t scampered under the bed this time.

Fluttershy opens the door just a smidge. Celestia! Shy’s pretty.

“Hey Shy,” I say happy but quiet.

She opens the door all the way and pulls be into a quick, soft hug. She’s so soft; almost like Rarity, but totally different. I really like that she’ll just hug me without being all weird and bashful about it. We worked on that for a long time. I have no idea how many times I told her to stop apologizing or asking permission and just hug me if she wanted to.

“Hi Dashie, you startled me. I wasn’t expecting anypony to come by today,” she says as pulls away and gestures for me to come inside.

“Yeah, sorry. I just wanted to give you a heads up that there’s going to be a pretty serious thunderstorm tonight.”

“A….A….A thund-”

“It’s going hit here a little after dinnertime and should last all night. I wanted to let you know so you could build a fort or whatever.”

I was looking around saying hey to some of the critters in the cottage, but when Shy didn’t answer I turned back to see the look of terror on her face. I can’t stop myself from laughing.

“Hey,” I say as I walk over to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. “You’re track record for surviving storms is pretty good Shy. I think you’ll be ok.”

She blinks a few times and nods herself out of the panicked trance.

“I suppose you’re right, and I do have some time to prepare.”

“Yeah. No way it’s going to be worse than last Nightmare Night. You’ve totally got this.”

She’s looking at the ground, fiddling with the carpet. Any other time, this would be the part where I offer to come hang out with her for part of the storm, but I have plans with my main mare tonight. What to do….

“Want me to see if AJ and the crusaders want to come hang out for a while so you won’t be alone?” Her eyes raise a few inches off the floor, but fall again when I finish. “I have plans with Rares tonight, or I would totally be here.”

Her eyes plop back down to the floor. Crap! I hate doing that to her. I’m like a security blanket for Flutters. We’ve been friends forever, so riding out storms together is super familiar for her. Maybe I can ask Rarity….she won’t say no. I probably ought to reschedule with Scootaloo anyway, don’t want the kid out in the rain. Maybe we can even finally talk to Shy about the other thing….

I lean forward and give shy a quick nuzzle, which startles her. Of course it does.

“Let me talk to Rares,” I say. “Maybe we can change the plan and spend the night here instead.”

“Oh Dash, I don’t want to be-”

“It’s no big deal Shy. Rarity would be madder than a manticore with a thorn in its paw if she knew I left you alone and scared.” That makes Fluttershy smile.

“K. I gotta go if we’re going to get back before the storm. See you in a while, Shy.” And I’m off out the door in a flash.

Horsefeathers. She’s going to need a half hour just to recover from me taking off.

I’m back in the sky, and back in the memory of that first morning with Rares.

So, she was holding me, which was totally unexpected awesomeness, and she was still asleep. So, I had a few minutes to just look at her. She never lets anypony see her like that. She had bedhead, and she still looked good!

I noticed the night before that she didn’t t put on very much make-up. Everypony gives her a hard time about wearing make up everyday, but she really doesn’t put on much. Not nearly as much as some ponies I know. Plus, I just don’t get why it’s a big deal. Sure, I wouldn’t do it, but most ponies would leave their house looking like they tried to their mane in a tornado, which is just my go to look.

Her eyeliner and eye shadow was just barely smudged that morning, but I could already imagine the colossal freak out that would happen when she realized it was less than perfect. And it’s totally not about anypony seeing how she looks. It doesn’t matter if she’s hanging with the crusaders or attending some fancy ball; Rares keeps herself looking good herself and no other pony. I liked that.

Geez! I never realized how much I thought about Rarity.

Oh well.. I didn’t really care. I had the thoughts anyway, what was the point in figuring where they came from.

Suddenly her eyes were open and we were staring at each other. Of course she caught me staring, of course she did. She didn’t make it weird though. She just pulled me a little closer and said, “Good morning, Rainbow Dash.”

Thank Celestia I had already thought about the morning breath problem. Not that she had morning breath, but enough ponies had told me I did that I believed them. So, I nuzzled under her chin and said, “Morning, Rares.”

Then we just laid there for a while. She pulled some mint leaves out of her bag with her magic and offered me one. No complaints about bad breath, just tasty solutions.

That’s when I started to freak out. This was awesome, but this was Rarity. We were probably all over some gossip column or whatever as some new hot couple or something. I hadn’t really thought that through all the way, and honestly it didn’t bother me. But...we hadn’t really talked about...stuff.

Then there was voice in my ear, she was right there with me. “It’s going to be ok, darling.”

That made me sit up. She looked sad for a second, but covered it up. “What’s wrong, Rainbow?”

“I-”

How was I supposed to talk to her about this?

She sat up, and gave me a quick kiss on my cheek. “How about we get some breakfast ordered, take a moment to collect our thoughts and then we can talk?”

“Yeah, ok.”

“Or would you rather make a quick trip to Donut Joe’s and bring something back for us?”

“Sure that sounds awesome!” A quick flight is just what I needed anyway. I heard her reaching into her bag with her magic, but I was out the window before she could give me the bits. No way Rares, breakfast is on me.

I had no idea what she wanted though. Luckily Joe had some ideas, and I came back with a dozen donuts, a few croissants, and two cups of coffee. Hers was a white chocolate something, that I got because seeing white chocolate on the menu made me think of her. Cuz I’m a total sucker like that.

When I got back, she was sitting at the desk drawing something. “Just a moment, darling. I’ve had a burst of inspiration for the Wonderbolt Blazers. Give me just a moment please.”

See, that’s cool. She hadn’t even brushed her mane. Inspiration struck and she followed it. I decided that the next time AJ whines around about Rarity being fussy I would totally say something about it. Sure, Rares likes being prepared and doing stuff right, but she also DOES stuff. It wasn’t cool that AJ made it sound like Rarity trying to do her best all the time was bad thing.

I slid the boxes off my back, picked up a donut in my teeth, then wrapped a wing around the cup that was hers. I walked over to the desk and set the cup down out of the way, so she wouldn’t knock it over. Then looked at the her sketch.

That pony can draw.

It wasn’t one idea. She was drawing the individual flight team members, each wearing a jacket that was basically like mine but a little different. Each one was customized for the pony. She’d drawn me too, but had redesigned the lightening bolts so they were rainbows like my cutie mark. She had that one circled.

Awesome! I’m gettin’ another new jacket that’s even cooler than the first.

The detail in the sketches was awesome. I couldn’t believe how many of the flight members she knew, and knew good enough to customize stuff for them. Plus, even though Rares designed awesome gala dresses, and coronation dresses, and wedding dresses, these were the coolest designs I’d seen her do.

“Those look killer Rares.”

“Hmm? Oh. Thank you,” she said taking a sip of her drink, which made her eyes flutter shut happily. Point to Rainbow Dash! “They are a bit rough around the edges. I’m hoping Mr. Sales can get me into a few more practices, so that I can really get to know each pony I’ll be designing for. I also have some ideas for a more casual, warm-up type look.”

I felt a cool brush of magic on the back of my head making me lean forward. She turned and kissed me on the cheek. “The coffee is delicious. Thank you very much.”

Why was I blushing? I don’t know. Mushy stuff didn’t usually get to me, but it wasn’t really mushy. It was casual, but...nice. For once, Shy’s favorite word felt just right.

She giggled and pulled away. “Perhaps it is time for that conversation we said we wanted to have.” She turned and walked toward the couch picking up a donut and a croissant, plus her coffee with her magic. I grabbed another donut and my coffee and sat in a chair next to the couch, so I could look at her while we talked.

“I-”

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash, but I’d like to begin if I may.”

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.” I don’t think I did a good job acting like I wasn’t relieved. I had no idea what I wanted to say to her yet, but I didn’t need her to know that.

“Wonderful. Thank you.” She sipped her coffee and took a bite of her donut. Once she was done chewing she started again. “I want to thank you for not kissing me yesterday.” She waved a hoof to keep me from interrupting. “I know we both wanted it, but I truly appreciate your willingness to encourage our mutual restraint. The truth is, I’ve heard some of the unflattering things ponies say about you and your...conquests; and it means a great deal to me that you clearly don’t think of me like that.”

“Rares, I-” I was looking at the floor in shame. Those stupid rumors. I mean, yeah. I was a player. WAS. I had been flying solo for a while. Sure I looked, but that was it. Just looked. That was all I ever did, and those rumors were not even a little true. And-

A white hoof touched my chin and lifted my face. “I don’t believe a word of it Rainbow Dash. I know you have had exploits, who hasn’t? But in the time we have all been friends, I have never seen you treat a pony they way they say you do. You are the element of loyalty after all. For you to simply throw some pony away isn’t in your character at all.”

Whew! Relief. And then, panic.

“Rarity,” I didn’t let her stop me this time. “They aren’t totally wrong though.” I hung my head in shame again. “I never meant to, but I think I did hurt a few ponies’ feelings. I mean we always talked, and everypony always agreed that we were just having fun and everything was cool, but...they weren’t. And I was too busy going too fast to notice. When the stuff with the elements happened that’s when I started to realize that I was hurting ponies and I stopped.”

A tissue wrapped in a blue aura wiped the tears of my cheek. “Thanks,” I said. She just held my hoof and waited for me to go on.

“I tried dating, really I did. Element of loyalty, shouldn’t have a problem sticking with one pony, right? But I always did. I never actually cheated, but the ponies I was with kept thinking I did.” She didn’t flinch or challenge me, just gave my hoof a squeeze. So, I said the rest. She needed to know. “I like you Rarity, and yesterday was a blast. Like way more awesome than I ever would have expected. And I really really want to try dating you, but I’m worried, because I look. I look at everypony. You’re not the first to catch my wings saying I want somepony I’m not sure I can have. I- I- just don’t want to ruin things you know, we’re friends and want to be more, and friends with benefits is stupid. You’re way better than that, so let’s not even try and talk about it, and-”

Lips.

Soft lips kissing me hard.

Soft lips and a tongue begging to be in my mouth, so I let it in. And I felt myself catch on fire. One flap of my wings and I had pushed her back on the couch. Our mouths moving together like two wings beating in perfect sync.

Then she flipped me! She didn’t even cheat and use magic, she just bodily flipped me on my back and pressed that lean barrel against mine.

Daaaaaammmmmnnn. That pony can kiss.

Then she pulled back with a giggle. I wrapped my wings and hooves around her thinking I could make her kiss me again. That’s when I realized the muscles I’d noticed the night before weren’t just for show. She kissed my nose and said, “I won’t hear you speak badly of yourself Rainbow Dash.” Then she leaned down and nipped my ear. “I look too.”

The heat was everywhere. I wanted her so bad, but I wanted to know what she meant. She nipped me again, then sat up. “Let me explain,” she said pulling me up with her.

“It’s actually a point I had intended to make during my first little speech. You see, I could easily be met with many of the same accusations that have been leveled against you, darling.”

“Huh?”

She smiled because I was confused. “For the longest time, I claimed that it was because I am a designer. Of course I examine everypony looking for how to make them most attractive. That is my calling, but that never explained why I found so very many ponies attractive or why I often found myself attracted to more than one pony at a time. I’ve not acted on the feelings as you have, at least not so frequently and with a good deal more discretion. But I cannot pretend that my own wandering eye hasn’t ruined a relationship or two. As you say, I have never actually cheated on anypony, but I found myself in more than one position where I thought I might.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

I tackle her again. It’s just a quick kiss to her mouth, then a flurry of kisses all over her face and neck. We were both laughing.

“Rainbow Dash,” she yelled. “Do stop and explain yourself.”

I jumped from the couch, and did a quick lap around the room to burn of the extra energy so I could focus on what I wanted to say. When I landed I looked right at her, and something clicked. She knew! I just told the pony I liked that I might like other ponies too, and she was totally cool with it.

AWESOME!

I leaned in for one more quick kiss then started talking.

“I thought it was just me. I thought I could never be good enough for anypony, and that I’d just have to be alone forever, because nopony wants to be with a pony they can’t trust. But if you get it, then….”

“Then perhaps, we can try and make this work?” She asked hopefully.

“Yeah!” I threw my forelegs around her in the tightest hug I could manage. When I pulled back she had something to say.

“There’s something else I need to say, darling.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Assuming we get to that point of course,” she started playing with a thread on the couch.

“Then what Rare?”

“Well if both of our wandering eyes were to rest on the same pony, then maybe we could…”

BEST MAREFRIEND EVER!!!

Ooo there’s the crusaders. I dive into a landing. Gotta talk to Scoots about changing out dinner plans.