18. Massage

Part Four: The Glimmering Jewel Within.

The crash at the door brought Rarity running. It was around the middle of the day, entering the early Fall months, which of course meant preparing for the Winter fashion season. And now she had Rainbow Dash for a willing model, at least for a few days of the week. Surprised to see her beloved mare slump forward as she opened the door, Rarity hastily pulled her back up to her feet.

"Hey, hey. Rarity, what if somepony sees that I need help?" Dash hurried inside and closed the door, hugging Rarity tightly. "And you shouldn't be straining yourself; she's starting to show y'know." Touching Rarity's slowly growing body, Dash stumbled up the stairs to the bedroom. Her last training exercise for the Running of the Leaves hadn't ended too well for her at all. On top of Wonderbolt training, she had really been pushing her physical boundaries.

Rarity shrugged off her excessive concern as she followed at a more 'inside appropriate' speed. From what little she saw of her mare in the brief time since she had arrived, there was a clear sign of concealment, something she was afraid of others seeing. Undoubtedly, another bruise on her leg, with the amount of running Dash had been doing it wouldn't be fair to expect no accidents at all. Physical activity was in her nature.

"Now dear, just tell me where it hurts, and we'll have you all better in no time." Dash was stretched out on the bed with her face buried into the pillow, moaning in pain. Rarity tutted to herself as she sat down beside her. The awkward, jagged movement of her wings seemed to point out where the problem was. "Oh, you really must try to keep your posture correct. Just look what it's doing to your wings; they're all twitchy and not at all right."

Dash rolled her eyes at Rarity's sweet talk. She didn't mind it at all, though she wouldn't admit to anyone but herself that she enjoyed it, so long as it wasn't meant to be demeaning. This seemed to be one of those times where her mare enjoyed treating her like a foal. Then again, she could probably do with the practise. "Rarity, my posture's fine, okay? Can you... Is there anything you can do about the pain? It's driving me nuts here; I dunno how long I can stand it."

Rarity placed her hoof down carefully between Dash's wings. The muscles were very tight and in need of help. "Oh Dashie, you really must consider seeing a masseuse. Your back is hardly in its best form." The wail of despair that followed caused her to grind her teeth slightly. Of course, the last time Rainbow Dash was in the spa had resulted in being called a softie. But between the two of them, they knew that was true enough.

"Look, I ain't going to see any spa pony or whatever. That's just not cool. I just figured you'd have something that'd relieve the pain while I continue to train, always fixed it for me before... oh..." While Dash was rambling on about how uncool seeking that much help from others was, Rarity merely positioned herself on her back to save the bother of questions.

Her many visits to the spa came in handy as she began the long process of relieving her mare's back with the long, drawn out rubbing with her hooves. "Now dearie, you couldn't possibly think that my visits to the spa were purely for my own benefit? I do learn quite a bit from observation, and experience of course" It was easy to replicate from memory, and the change from moaning in pain to humming in relief was a testament to that.

Relief for Rainbow Dash was blissful. Most of the time she hid whatever proved to be a bother from everyone else and waited for it to go away. Rarity's massage however, this was something she had definitely been missing out on. She turned her head to the side in order to look back at her mare as she brought the muscles back out of their contorted state.

"You look cute from this angle, foal inside and all. How's she going?" Rarity glanced down at herself. It had only recently began to show, yet she already felt excited. Three months in, eight more ahead. Celestia's final spell had given her protection against the unborn foal's magic, should it prove to be strong, which negated the need for isolation. And she had Rainbow Dash to herself whenever she was home as well.

"She's fine, as I am too. Though I must admit, she takes after her mother on choosiness, it is difficult to find a position to sleep in we both feel comfortable with." Satisfied with the muscles around the wings, Rarity moved forward to the shoulders. "You've clearly been hiding this from me for a while. And I thought we were a lovely little couple." The pink eyes rolled again, more smoochiness and sappy stuff like that.

"Hey, you get really obsessive over little things. I..." On the verge of saying something that would probably upset Rarity, Dash quickly thought of a better choice of words. "I'm concerned, for you and the baby. And it'd be unfair for me to just, soak up all the attention. I mean, that's pretty cool if you ask me... But you need more time to yourself, I guess." What she felt was a hard admission she hoped would have the desired effect of getting Rarity off her back, metaphorically. In the literal sense, she was really enjoying it.

Rarity was touched deeply by her mare's show of affection. Now that the state of Dash's neck had been improved too, she moved her attention down to the lower back. "How sweet, now I feel ashamed for ever doubting you. But really Dashie, you mustn't be afraid of me, I'll always love you. And you'll always be the coolest pony I know, even if you feel like you need a bit of a massage. There's nothing wrong with wanting a bit of personal pampering."

Rainbow Dash would have tried to disagree, were it not for the incredible feeling of relief that Rarity's massage had brought to her back and wings. The Elements sure had it right on her being Generosity. As her mare finished with the massage, Dash instinctively rolled onto her side, holding Rarity's back close to her. Wings wrapping around the locks of purple hair, both settled down into content relaxation.

"Y'know, you're pretty warm, in the good way of course." She moved her head to rest her chin on Rarity's shoulder, staring down at their foal. It still had her confused as to how it was at all possible, but thinking about things like that would undoubtedly give her a headache. Rarity had performed the spell, and things had happened between them. And plead as she did, her own precious unicorn wouldn't do the spell again, at least not for the time being.

*

Waking to the smell of good food had become familiar to Rainbow Dash. Preparing meals for herself often ended with the necessity to eat out, which she didn't mind a whole lot. At least now she had more time to train, and sleep of course. Rarity was good to her like that; she didn't have any problems with her preferred sleeping schedule. And in return, she was always there in case something needed to be done.

It was getting dark outside, sleeping through the afternoon without interruption was rather uncommon, but then she had slept far more peacefully than any other time she could remember. Finding her way into the kitchen brought the pleasant surprise of what she had been eagerly anticipating, another of Rarity's special dinners. Rarity was busy finishing off the cooking, providing Dash with the chance to wrap her wing around her discreetly.

"Remember, so long as you're taking it easy Rarity, and Applejack's always around to help with food too. Otherwise, I'll try my best to learn how to cool real food." Rarity pressed her head against Dash's softly. So different to what she saw in the former love of her life. Rainbow Dash cared for her so much, always thinking of her first. And better still, there was no more hesitation about showing that affection.