Crystals Grow on Rainbows

"Waaaaah!" Rarity felt something touch her when she was about to settle into sleep, causing her to leap high out of the bed. Pulling her blanket and pillows around her as a precaution, her jaw dropped at what really lay before her. Rainbow Dash, cowering there on her bed. Of all the ponies... Words wouldn't even form in her mind at that point. Finally, the most logical and sensible question she could think of found its way out.

"Rainbow Dash! Would you please explain what you're doing in my bed?" It had been Dash who laughed her head off and made Rarity feel terrible. And now she was here, hiding in her bed. Sitting down at last, she patiently waited for Rainbow Dash to explain her childish and somewhat hypocritical behaviour. Rarity definitely wasn't in the mood for games coming from the pegasus.

Dash felt herself blushing, playing stupid for a few moments as she tried to think up a better story than the prank. "I uh... felt bad! About laughing at you and all that. Yeah, so I figured I'd stop by, but since you weren't here... I decided to take a nap! Yeah..." Pulling her best cheesy grin seemed to be the only option left. Maybe she felt a little bad about laughing, but it was unbelievably silly.

Rarity hesitated in her disgruntled stare for a moment. It wasn't like Rainbow Dash to apologize for laughing; maybe her initial resentment was misplaced. It was an apology either way. That deserved some credit. "It's, okay... The fact that you found it so funny was very hurtful, but I do appreciate you making the effort to come by personally and apologise."

The pegasus still felt awkward about being in Rarity's bed, but she wasn't blushing anymore. She didn't recall her ever being so, forgiving. But if it got her off the hook for a good luck, then what was there to complain about? Yet it still felt like her lie was edging towards becoming the truth. "No problem. So uh..." Roughing her mane up helped distract from the situation. Ironically, it allowed her position to register fully. In Rarity's bed, when the unicorn was meant to be considering pegasus partners...

What should have been an awkward moment didn't feel that out of place now that Dash had apologised. Rarity felt better that she wasn't being laughed at behind her back anymore. Though, now that the shock had passed, she once again found herself becoming sleepy. Another idea came to mind at that moment "Rainbow, I realise this may seem a bit... presumptuous, but you wouldn't happen to know any pegasi who like the fashion business? I don't really know that many ponies from Cloudsdale myself, so if there's anypony you can think of, would you help me out?"

For Dash, the question was virtually a golden ticket out of her predicament. Nodding eagerly covered up her moment of terror, in which she feared Rarity would choose her to be the special somepony! As if things weren't silly enough, she had narrowly avoided being roped into the life that scared her so. Becoming an egghead was bad enough after all, but a fashion pony?!

Taking the chance with both hooves to leave, she awkwardly backed towards the window. "I'll uh, see what I can do. I'm sure there's gotta be somepony who... likes frilly and fancy, stuff." Finding herself pressed up against the window, she eagerly pulled it open and stepped out. "So uh, catch you tomorrow then!" Lightning struck as Dash closed the window once more, lighting up Ponyville for a moment. It was enough for her to work out the best flight path back home.

After all that, Rarity no longer felt tired, watching Rainbow Dash depart caused guilt. It was good that they had settled the silly incident, but now she felt awful for just letting Dash go out into the rain without even offering to let her stay. The curtains had been left open however, nothing to complain about of course, but it provided her with a reason to move closer to the window. She didn't even get to thank her.

"Oh Dashie, there's nothing wrong with..." Rarity stopped herself there and reached out to close the curtains. A loud crack brought her attention back outside, where a heavy branch was falling to the ground. And Rainbow Dash was right in its path! The pegasus only caught sight of it at the last moment, unable to avoid it crashing down on her. Rarity's heart froze for a moment. She had been picky about pulling branches down before, but it hadn't caused harm to one of her friends. Now she severely regretted ever doubting Applejack in that regard.

She galloped down the stairs at breakneck speed, nearly tripping in the process. No time to waste, in the cold rain, Rainbow Dash wouldn't last long at all. Throwing the door open revealed a scene just as bad as she imagined. Dash was pinned into the muddy grass by the branch, no sign of movement or attempt to free herself. Rarity splashed her way across, lifting the heavy branch off with her magic. It was an emergency, and she couldn't possibly lift it off by herself. Rainbow Dash heaved air in heavily without the weight on her side. A nasty bruise was forming, and her wing was definitely not the right shape.

"Hold on!" Struggling against the grip of the mud, Rarity finally pulled Dash free. The pegasus did her best to keep her wing from catching on the slippery grass, as she had been taught to in such a situation. For the moment, she wasn't concerned about whoever was rescuing her from the storm. Rarity continued to pull her back towards the Carousel, not hesitating for anything until both were safely inside.

Despite the fact that both were dripping wet, Rarity finally managed to get Rainbow Dash onto her feet. Keeping their weight together made ascending the stairs a challenge, but one that Rarity felt she owed her friend in return. Dash was too dazed from the impact to pay much attention to who was helping her. But there was help at least, that was important. The stairs levelled out onto a flat surface again, carpet that she recognized from just mere minutes ago...

Rarity left Rainbow Dash to lie down on the floor while she went to get towels. It was a close call, but Dash was still able to walk at least. Wrapping the towel around her friend was hard with the broken wing, but she managed it in the end. Her friend was safe, and no longer in danger of injury or catching cold. Rarity sat down beside Rainbow Dash as she placed another towel around herself, smiling as she felt the messy rainbow mane rest closer towards her.

"You okay Dash? Before you left, I was going to offer the lounge downstairs for the night while the storm passed over, but I think it's better if you take the bed." A rather strange turn of events if anything, but she wasn't seriously injured at least. "I'll get you over to the hospital in the morning when it should be clearer. I'll make the bed for you in the meantime."

Rarity carefully got up again, lighting one of the candles before she began making the bed by hoof. Rainbow Dash watched her silently at work, seeing the unicorn unconcerned about her appearance was a rare occasion. Feeling her mind starting to wander in the direction she didn't like, Dash tried to get up unsuccessfully. The movement caused another jolt of pain in her wing.

"Hey uh... I don't mind sharing the bed. But just, don't get any ideas, okay?" Rarity nodded as she began drying their manes down. It felt odd, performing an activity that she'd usually have done at the spa in the dimly lit room with a grim thunderstorm outside. But Dash wasn't complaining that it was uncool, perhaps the branch had knocked her head around a bit too. Being unable to use her magic to lift Dash onto the bed proved to be inconvenient, but they managed to accomplish that in the end.

Rarity made the bed once the pegasus had settled down, hesitating for a few moments before sliding under the covers herself. It was perfectly fine for two ponies to share a bed, and yet she found herself snuggling up closer. There were signs that she couldn't ignore, had Dash stayed the night she wouldn't have been injured, and now she didn't pretend that things were fine to escape attention. Weird as it was, maybe the ideal partner was closer to her than she had imagined previously.