• Published 12th Sep 2012
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Third Time's a Charm - RazedRainbow



After Rainbow Dash saves her life yet again, Rarity lets something out.

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Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Rarity was in heaven.

She was laying upon a most comfortable mattress in a most exquisite four-poster bed. The insignia stitched into her violet sheets and pillowcases in the most dazzling grey thread she had ever seen told the tale: she was in a suite in Princess Celestia’s palace.

A high-pitched squeal filled the air. It took her a few seconds to realize it was her own.

She couldn’t help but ponder if she had been here before. Maybe it was the same suite she had stayed in so many times before, or maybe it was a different lavishly decorated room altogether. She couldn’t be too sure; she had never actually been in any of the other suites. All she could be sure of was that the drapes, the bedding, the bits, and the smile that tugged at her lips were all genuine.

The air around her felt like perfection. It smelled fresh, like a botanical garden in the middle of spring. It felt soft—not too cool and not too warm. Everything about it screamed “perfect.” If only she could remember why it felt that way.

A knock sounded at the door, echoing around the room as if it were a massive cave. Rarity turned towards the towering door, her grin only growing brighter. “Coming,” she said in a pitch perfect, singsong voice.

As she hopped off the bed and onto the soft carpeting, Rarity caught sight of herself in the silver-rimmed mirror—nearly two ponies tall—on the other side of the room. What she saw staring back at her left her breathless. Two jaws dropped as she trotted closer, and she lifted a hoof to the glass, as though touching the material would make it any more real.

She wore the most dazzling dress she had ever seen. The fact that she had been laying in bed with such beautiful fabric still on her body made her want to tear her mane out. How dare she disrespect such a beautiful dress! These are not pajamas, she scolded inwardly. This fabric can wrinkle and tear, and you are an absolute heathen for putting such a beautiful dress in such needless peril. She turned before the mirror, head on a swivel as she checked the dress for any rips or tears. A high-pitched sigh escaped her list as she found not a single flaw.

Another knock sounded—heavier.

“I’ll be right there,” Rarity piped, forcing her gaze away from the stunning material and towards the grand door.

The gold handle turned blue as Rarity's magic enswathed it. She pulled back on the handle just hard enough for her to not come off as a socially awkward pony, too frightened to open a door, yet not too quick; she did not want to be deemed an impatient delinquent. Such was the life of a Canterlonian: propriety reigned over something as simple as opening doors.

She knew that she was expected to greet the pony at the door with the utmost glee and finesse, and she was not one to let anypony down. So, she stood up tall and grinned wide enough for her skin to feel like it was tearing.

“So sorry to keep you waiting,” she said with an aristocratic chuckle. “I was...” She opened her eyes and any and all grace fled from her mind like animals from a forest fire. “Wha? Huh?!”

The pony standing before her was not a stranger—that was not the worst part. The pony lifted their head and their face, which until then had been hidden by the rim of a white top hat, came into view. At that moment, Rarity realized that this pony was a mare—that was still not the worst part. Rose eyes stared into hers, half-lidded and gleaming with fervor. It was as she observed the mare closely—her sly grin, her chest puffed out in a boastful pose, her hind legs sticking out from behind a tuxedo jacket, and what little bit of her prismatic mane that wasn’t covered by her hat blowing in the wind—that her mind was able to put the alarming pieces together.

Like a prince coming to rescue a damsel, Rainbow Dash stood before her—that was the worst part.

Rarity opened her mouth to speak—to compose the most vivid display of confusion (profane words a lady should never utter, included) that Equestria had ever heard. The raving that might have gone down in history never made it past her diaphragm; Rainbow took flight, scooping Rarity up in her forelegs. Rarity stole a glance at the mirror through her peripheral vision. It all looked like the cover of a romance novel... a cheap, bad romance novel in dust-covered paperback that one finds in a dumpster behind a convenience store. Now that she thought about it, the whole thing had taken a turn towards smut territory.

Again she opened her mouth to speak, and again she was cut off as Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, tilted her head at a slight angle, and began to lean forward. Rarity’s eyes grew. “Rainbow Dash?” she managed. “What are you doing?” Rainbow was close now, drawing closer; Rarity could feel her warm breath on her face—could smell raspberries. Why did her breath smell like raspberries? And why was she leaning in so close?

No. Rarity’s eyes grew as wide as the sun. Oh blessed Celestia, please, no.

Her pleas went unanswered, and Rainbow leaned closer. Closer. She could almost feel Rainbow’s lips.

And then Rainbow started to nudge her neck.

“Wha?” Rarity’s eyes remained wide—arched. “Rainbow Dash... what... what are you doing?

“Get up,” she said.

“What the—”

“Get up.”

“Rainbow Dash, forgive me for being so uncouth, but what the hay is your problem?!"

Rainbow nudged her even harder—jabbing now—and her voice grew harsher. “Get up, Rarity!” she seethed. “Geez!”

And Rarity did just that.


The brightness of the room told Rarity that it was close to noon. Or maybe it was far earlier; she had never been one to pay attention to how much light was in a room at a given hour.

She groaned, stretched out, then nestled her face in her forelegs. No sooner had she started to get comfortable, than the heavy nudging returned.

“No,” said the voice, “we are not going through this again. C’mon, Rares, up and at ‘em.”

“I’m up,” Rarity muttered. “No need to break my ribs.” She lifted her head slightly, but wound up resting her chin on her forelegs, blinking rapidly. Again, something nudged against her side—a hoof this time—and she turned and looked up at Rainbow through squinted eyes.

Dash’s eyes were narrowed, her mouth contorted. “Come on. We’re wasting daylight here.” She paused, then continued, “You wanna get home, don’t ya?”

Rarity sighed. “Of course I do, Rainbow.” Words could not describe how silly that question seemed; what kind of pony would prefer staying in the middle of nowhere instead of their own home? Still, she refrained from sarcasm or jabs. “Just give me some time to wake up, won’t you?”

“Fine,” Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes and a snort before walking off. As Rarity tried to wake herself up, she watched Rainbow’s movements. Rainbow trudged over to a window, hoofsteps echoing around the empty house. Her breaths fogged up the already dusty windowpane. Rarity could see hundreds upon thousands of water droplets dotting the glass. She looked at the floor, then the ceiling, then Rainbow’s coat and mane, then her own: they were all equally soggy.

A day or two ago, this revelation would have sent her into hysterics. Not anymore, though; she had grown used to the unkemptness. She might loathe it, but there was little she could do at the moment besides tolerate it. Still, the thought of what her mane looked like right now sent a chill down her spine. Thank Celestia there are no mirrors in here. With that thought, she shifted her attention back to Rainbow Dash. She had moved away from the window and was now standing in the middle of the room, near an old table, stretching.

“Man, remind me to never sleep on a floor again.” Rainbow cocked her head and a multitude of pops and clicks followed. “I’ve been up for, like, an hour and I still feel stiff as a block of cement.”

Rarity nodded, but her mind quickly drifted elsewhere. She had begun to think about the dream—questioning meanings and whatnot—but her mind was quickly seized once more by the sight of the pegasus.

Rainbow was leaning down on the forelegs in front of her, back arched, good wing fluttering slightly, and her hind legs taut and straight.

And what legs they were.

Rarity found her mind shutting off as she watched Rainbow go through what she could only assume were daily routines. She flexed her good wing—unfurling it, flapping it once, furling it, then repeating the steps. She tried to do the same with her bad wing, but she couldn’t make it through a single cycle. Then, her forelegs went stiff, and she stretched her hind legs out behind her. Before now, Rarity had never noticed just how toned they were, and she was finding it impossible to turn her eyes away. Rarity felt her face heat up—and she hated it.

She didn’t want to feel this way... or did she? She couldn’t be too sure anymore; too many things were saying that something deep within her wanted this. Regardless, it meant nothing. It couldn’t. Just because she thought Rainbow had nice legs didn’t mean that she had any romantic feelings for her. She had complimented all of her friends’ bodies before, and none of those times had it meant anything romantic. Finding aesthetic appeal in somepony didn’t always have to mean something more; she had worked with more than enough models and designers to figure that out.

Of course, no matter how sensually any of her other friends sauntered, they had never made Rarity blush—nay, it only made her roll her eyes. And yet, Rainbow Dash was different... without even trying.

Why?

Why was Rainbow Dash doing this to her?

Did she...

I... I have a crush on Rainbow, don’t I?

No matter how much she wanted to deny it, the truth was slapping her in the face—had been since the moment she had “accidentally” kissed Rainbow Dash. And how long had it been there before then, building up pressure and waiting to explode? The royal wedding? The Best Young Flyer competition? Before that? She felt an ache grow in her stomach and head. She had a crush on Rainbow Dash. Another mare. A longtime friend. Had these feelings always been there? If they had, she had done a good job of hiding them from herself.

She wasn’t even aware that Rainbow was speaking to her until the pegasus was shouting.

“Rarity! Yo, Rarity!”

Rarity shook her head, and her eyes went wide as soon as she noticed where her gaze was: still locked on Rainbow’s legs. She gulped and looked up at Rainbow, giving her the best grin she could muster. “Heh heh, apologies, Rainbow Dash. I was simply thinking abo—”

“Catch!”

Before Rarity even knew what was going on, an apple was soaring her way. It moved in slow motion—like impending doom—and it felt like she had all the time in the world to think and fret. Should she catch it with her head? That would probably hurt the least and do the least amount of damage, but at the same time, did she want to risk ruining her mane more than it already was? She moved on to letting it hit the floor, but she quickly wiped that away. Rain water, dust, possibly mold, it was nothing to eat off of. Then she thought about using her teeth to catch it, but that seemed like the most daring—and in turn, stupid—one yet. A fashionista without teeth would be like a Wonderbolt without wings. Suddenly, it hit her that she could use a simple telekinesis spell, but it was too late. The apple was centimeters from her mouth, and she opened her mouth without thinking.

She expected to hear a shatter and feel the worst of all pains.

Instead, she felt the apple land and wedge itself between her incisors. She spit the apple out into one hoof, and felt around her mouth with the other (along with her tongue). There were no chips—no pain—and her mouth was filled with the flavor of apple rather than the metalic taste of blood.

For a second, she smiled, proud of herself for not ruining her smile. Then, the smile flipped and she glared daggers at Dash. Rainbow just giggled.

“Nice catch, Rares,” she said, leaning back against the table. “Hehe, you shoulda seen the look on your face.”

“Oh, I think I have a good idea what it looked like,” Rarity sneered, grasping the apple in her magic and rising to her hooves. She stretched out her sleeping limbs before making her way over to the table.

“Seriously though, nice catch. Even AJ totally whiffed that the first time I tried it—bounced right off her nose and into the river.” Rainbow laughed and shuddered at the same time as she turned to sit down. “Woo, let me tell you... she was pissed! Face all like this.” Dash scrunched her face so that everything was pointing at a downward angle. “Blood coming out her nose. Hehe. I apologized of course—gave her my apple and had to do chores around the farm for a week while her nose healed. Worth it, though.” Rainbow sighed and took a deep breath. “Anyways, great catch.” She extended her foreleg towards Rarity.

Rarity looked at it like a foal looks at a quantum physics textbook.

Rainbow giggled, then sighed, shaking her foreleg. After Rarity continued to stare at it blankly, Rainbow rolled her eyes and said, “Pound it.”

“Oh, of course.” Rarity let out a quiet staccato of giggles as she bumped her hoof against Rainbow’s. Rainbow didn’t look satisfied, but she seemed let it pass, lowering her leg and going to town on her apple. Rarity stared at hers for a few moments, mind a frozen pool of stagnant waters, before taking a dainty bite.

“So, uh...” Rainbow began. “Sleep well?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘well,’ but it was far from the worst I’ve had.” She considered saying something about how having such a ‘lovely blanket’ made her sleep better, but she brushed it off. As true as it was—as much as she secretly longed to feel Rainbow’s wing draped over her again—she knew that saying so would only come off as ‘flirty.’ Which it was. Shaking her head, she switched topics. “Where did you get these apples from, anyway? Is your wing better?”

“Nah, still a bit sore for flying.” Rainbow’s expression suddenly tensed. “Don’t you go on another apologizing tear, Rares. It’s just sore—you didn’t do any damage or nothing.”

“Oh, I wasn’t about to,” Rarity said. Now that Rainbow mentioned it, the guilt started to rush in once more, but it simply flowed through—not building up.

“Anywho, I found these outside,” Dash continued. “Storm blew a lot of the apples out of the tree.” She smirked. “Don’t worry, I washed ‘em off.”

Rarity gave a half-hearted chortle. “Thank you for that, Rainbow. Really, it m-mea... me...” She coughed and squeezed her eyes shut. Tongue-tied. She’d had crushes before, and she knew that they were much like a disease. First, the symptoms would march in subtly, then she would figure out that she was crushing, and then once she was certain that she was in fact ‘crushing,’ the problems would increase tenfold. She was already experiencing the basics: a tied-up tongue, muddled diction and general awkwardness.

“So, I think if we get started here soon,” Rainbow said, breaking the weighty silence, “we’ll be able to reach Ponyville by nightfall.”

“Really? I... Rainbow, we don’t seem to be anywhere near... I don’t even recognize this place.”

“Trust me, I’ve flown this way quite a bit—know it like the back of my hoof.” She grinned. “Know all the shortcuts, too.”

Rarity cocked her head. “Oh really?” She laughed. “Don’t tell me you have been meandering around just so you can spend more time with moi.”

“Hehe, I’d rather have my wings cut off.”

Rarity slumped back in her chair. It felt like every organ in her torso had been dropped off a cliff at once. Rainbow seemed to notice this, for she leaned forward and patted Rarity’s shoulder. “Hey now, it was just a joke, Rares. I’ve...” She chuckled. “All things considered, this has been better than it could have been.” She smiled.

Rarity smiled back. “Well... it’s definitely been eventful.”

Rainbow laughed. “You can say that again.” She leaned back in her chair, sighing and looking at the apple core. Rarity looked down at her own apple, with one or two tiny bite marks, and sighed. Time waited for no pony, and she had a whole town waiting for her and Rainbow to return. Then, she did something she had never dreamed of doing in her most vile nightmares.

She finished the apple in two bites, taking a big chunk out of each half and swallowing before chewing properly. Rainbow stared at her, wide-eyed and with the silliest grin on her face.

“Wow...” She whistled and tapped a hoof on the table. “That, Rares, was the raddest thing I think I’ve ever seen you do.”

Raddest.

A day ago, being called that would have made her roll her eyes—maybe even scoff and aim a witty insult back in Rainbow’s direction. Not now, though. Now it only made her smile. She could feel heat coursing across her face, and she didn’t care.

Adrenaline pumping through her veins, Rarity stood up first. “Come on, Rainbow. Ponyville is waiting—Sweetie Belle is waiting. I will not have them wait any longer than they have to.”

Rainbow stared at her blankly for a moment, then stood up herself—a toothy smile plastered on her face. “That’s the spirit, Rares. Heh, I never thought you had it in you, but... wicked cool.” For a second, Rarity thought she saw Rainbow’s cheeks turn the faintest shade of pink. “Let’s move out!” She paused to giggle, then continued, “I’ll lead the way.”

Rainbow didn’t have to ask twice. Rarity fell in behind Dash as they marched out the door. The hard wood was replaced by soft grass, much to Rarity’s relief—her hooves had not been made to resist splinters. The world outside was damp, but covered in a sheet of red and orange. It was like a picturebook sunrise, and Rarity couldn’t help but smile.

As they moved forward, Rarity stole a glance at Rainbow. First her mane, then her wings, then her legs. Her stomach felt like a hurricane and her face felt like the sun. It was going to be a long walk home.


Special Thanks To: Bronius Maximus and Cynewulf