Rainbow Dash stood at her living room table, forehooves propped on the wooden surface. Ahead of her lay a map of Ponyville, covered by little white cloud-shaped pieces of wood. The day before Winter Wrap Up was always tricky, as Rainbow had to coordinate the massive weather cleanup and decide which clouds had to stay and which would go.
Normally, Rainbow would never bother with micromanaging like that, but Applejack had made it a point in years past to be picky about the sun coverage on the farm. It was tolerable until she started counting errors. Rainbow hadn't had a "zero" yet, but that didn't stop her from trying.
A knock on the door interrupted her planning session. Jumping up, Rainbow hovered over and pulled it open to find her marefriend. One of the last cold breezes of winter blew past them, but the sight of Rarity was enough to warm her up again.
"Hey, babe. What's up?" Despite how obvious it was how Rarity had gotten there, Rainbow still felt the need to glance past her at the hot air balloon.
"Rainbow, dearie," Rarity replied with a nod and a smile, "I was just in the mood for a little together time, you see."
Rainbow stepped back. "Sure thing, babe. I was just doing a little weather planning."
Rarity turned away. "Perhaps we can spend our time outside?"
A few steps took Rainbow out her door. "In the cold? Oookay."
"And one of these days I will have you stop calling me 'babe'." Rarity walked to the edge of the porch, sat down, and patted the cloud beside her.
Shivering, Rainbow flew over and joined her marefriend. "So what did you want to do?"
Rarity leaned into Rainbow's side and closed her eyes. Rainbow rolled hers, opened her right wing, and wrapped it around her. In response, Rarity wiggled herself against Rainbow and happily murmured something unintelligible.
Another cold breeze blew past. Rainbow spread the feathers of her right wingtip to shield Rarity from the chill, then patted her with them. She shielded herself with her free wing the best she could, but the cold made it through her coat regardless.
Rainbow consoled herself with the thought that Rarity was happy. But a feeling ate away at the back of her mind, something she had to confirm.
"Hey, Rarity?" Rainbow looked at her.
"Hmm?" Rarity nestled against her.
"Are you..." It felt wrong to ask. "Are you only dating me for this? I mean, for my wings?" Rainbow flexed her wing for emphasis. "For my body?"
Rarity opened her eyes and looked at her. "Of course not, dearie. That's just a nice bonus. But you're very pretty, and your wings are wonderfully soft. Ooh they're so nice to snuggle up beneath." She closed her eyes again and leaned herself against the underside of Rainbow's wing. Rainbow couldn't help but press back against the weight, eliciting contented cooing. Despite her misgivings, she felt better.
Feeling self conscious, Rainbow brushed her free wing against her stomach before putting it to the side of her face. Her feathers felt the same as they had her whole life. She supposed her wing felt soft.
"But I did want to ask a favor of you," Rarity said, "before I got distracted."
"Huh? Oh, sure thing, babe. What is it?"
Rarity stretched out her forelegs, digging a pair of furrows into the cloud. "I have an order for a set of costumes for a play, and I'd like you to help me make them."
Cocking her head, Rainbow loosened her grip as she half-turned to face her. "Me? I don't know how to sew. Can't you ask Fluttershy, or Twilight, or... okay not Applejack or Pinkie."
She heard a chuckle next to her. "Funny you should mention her. Pinkie Pie has been an amazing help these past months. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that she knows so much about ponies, but I've gone to her so many times since we've started dating. It seems like she always knows just what to do."
Rarity paused. "Well, usually. A few of her suggestions haven't gone to plan. But asking you to help me sew was her idea. She insisted that the two of us do it together."
"Was using me as a blanket her idea, too?" Rainbow flexed her wing again.
"No, I just enjoy how it feels." Rarity sighed. "She says she's jealous, though. Do me another favor, dearie, and don't start dating her. I don't think she'd be able to take how snuggly you are."
Rainbow smiled. "You shouldn't listen too closely to Pinkie. I want to be your marefriend, not hers." Another cold breeze brought a shiver out of her. "So Pinkie thinks I should sew?"
Rarity prodded her nose at a stray feather. "I know you don't know much about sewing, but I would like to finish the costumes quickly, and you are very fast."
"You know it."
"I must finish my preparations though." Rarity stood up and groaned. "It's a large order, and I'll have my hooves full with Winter Wrap Up tomorrow as well. The day after will be quite good to start "
Rainbow fluffed her wings out and folded them at her sides. She stretched the rest of her body and made her way back towards her front door.
"Sounds good to me, babe. I got some stuff I still gotta plan out for tomorrow."
Within her house, Rainbow returned her attention to the weather plans. She pushed a cloud to Applejack's west field and doodled a sun on a patch of flowers.
Outside the window, she saw Rarity climbing into the balloon.
Rainbow drew a sunbeam over Carousel Boutique.
---
The sun approached the western horizon, heralding the end of spring's first day. Rainbow floated through the sky, double-checking the weather team's patterns. Although some stratus clouds were slightly out of place, Equestria's greatest weatherpony made sure they didn't stay there very long.
Satisfied with her carefully planned springtime weather, Rainbow's attention turned to the ground. In the distance, she spotted Fluttershy and her furry friends. She tilted her body in that direction and swooped down.
Rainbow landed just in front of her. "Hey, Fluttershy."
Two robins flew away from Fluttershy's outstretched foreleg. "Hello, Rainbow," Fluttershy said. "Wonderful job as always clearing out the sky."
"Thanks, uh..." Rainbow bit her lip, stalling. "I need your help with something."
"Of course," Fluttershy responded. She turned to the bear at her side and whispered into its ear. It nodded and lumbered away as Fluttershy turned to address Rainbow. "What do you need?".
Rainbow took a breath, then stepped forward. "Lemme see your wing."
"O-oh. All right." Slowly, Fluttershy's left wing unfolded. One blue hoof met the spread of yellow feathers, and another stroked along their top. Out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow noticed a nervous glance. The wing twitched in response to a gentle squeeze. Its muscles paled in comparison to Rainbow's, but Fluttershy's feathers felt similar in texture.
Rainbow frowned and let go. “What's so special about wings?” she quietly said to herself.
Fluttershy's face dropped. "I'm sorry, is there something wrong with my wing?"
"No, nothing's wrong with it. I just... lemme think." Rainbow sat down. Not too long after, the bear returned for some short conversation with Fluttershy. It was something about fish and snowdrifts blocking a cave, but it was boring enough to tune out after a few words. She waited for them to finish talking.
"All right," Rainbow said without getting up. "Can you sit next to me?"
Hesitant, Fluttershy walked over and sat at Rainbow's side. "Okay."
"Put your wing around me." Rainbow's own wings twitched.
Fluttershy paused. A few seconds later, Rainbow felt a warm wing lay itself across her back. She closed her eyes, trying to take in the sensation. It was a wing, nothing more.
"Can you, I don't know, try to wrap it around me? Really hold me." She shook her head a little, trying to think of how to duplicate how Rarity must have felt.
"I'm not sure this is really appropriate, Rainbow." Fluttershy's wingtip made its way over Rainbow's folded wing.
Racking her brain, Rainbow tried to pinpoint what was different. It might have been her own wing in the way. No matter how she tried to unfold it, the wing stubbornly remained pinned between them. She mentally tried to work out the geometry needed for their sides to meet, to little avail. Rainbow leaned in towards Fluttershy, who tensed up and shifted away.
"Rainbow?" It wasn't Fluttershy's voice. "Fluttershy? What are you two doing?"
Following the voice, Rainbow looked over to see Rarity on the road. She carried a wicker basket filled with birds' nests in her magical grip.
Fluttershy sprang to her feet. Rarity raised an eyebrow and looked at Rainbow.
Rainbow stood up and shifted her wings. "Hey, babe."
"Am I interrupting anything... personal?"
Rainbow's mind took a moment to process what Rarity meant. "Oh, that. You like being under my wing so much,"—she opened and closed her right wing—"I was trying to work out what the big deal is."
Rarity opened and closed her mouth. Then she smiled, laughed softly, and looked down with a slight shake of her head. "And did you?"
"Sorry, babe. I don't see it."
"I don't think you will with Fluttershy." Rarity walked up to Rainbow's side and stroked her wing. "It's these wings in particular that have that effect on me." She looked at Fluttershy. "No offense, dear."
"None taken!" Fluttershy squeaked.
Turning to her, Rarity delivered her cargo. "Here's the last batch of nests, dear. I hope they're to your satisfaction."
With a small start, Fluttershy brought her eyes to the basket before placing it on her back. "Oh yes. They look lovely. Thank you," she said somewhat faster than normal.
"I'll be off then. I still have a horrid amount of work to do." She looked to her marefriend. "Remember our date, dearie," she called.
"Tomorrow, babe! I'll be there." Rainbow waved her off.
Once Rarity had left, Fluttershy put her hoof to her chest and exhaled hard. "For a moment there I thought I was going to make you two—I mean, I had my wing around you and everything... you two almost..."
Suddenly, Fluttershy spun to face Rainbow, opened her wings, and shoved her hoof into Rainbow's front.
"Don't you ever do that again!"
---
Rainbow fluttered to a stop outside the Boutique's upper window. She pulled it open and let herself in. Within, her marefriend was busy sorting through a very large collection of multicolored fabrics.
"Hey, babe." Rainbow's hooves met the floor. She looked around at the array of mannequins clad in draped fabrics. "This is uh, kind of a lot."
Rarity's attention, as well as her magic, was focused on the mannequin in front of her. "Yes, but I've always wanted to make these costumes, so I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity now. Citizen Canine is an absolute masterpiece of theatre, after all."
Rainbow searched her memory. "I've heard it's pretty good, but I've never seen it."
"Did you know that Canine was played by a stallion for years?" Rarity turned to Rainbow. "It completely undermines the message of the play if you ask me. Fortunately, this particular production casts him properly." She turned back to her work. "But I've never sewed for a diamond dog before, so this will be quite the challenge."
The room's door opened, and Spike entered, his arms full of spools.
"Hey Rarity," he said, "I got the extra thread you wanted."
The spools of thread took on a blue sheen, and they hovered their way onto a nearby shelf. "Thank you, Spikey-wikey!" Rarity called, turning to him.
Spike looked at Rarity. Then he looked at Rainbow. Rainbow looked back. She swallowed.
He balled his hands into fists and left the room.
"Spike!" With a passing glance at Rarity, Rainbow hurried after him.
Once she turned into the hallway, Spike turned around and raised his fists.
Rainbow took a step back. "What the?"
"You think I won't fight for her? Put 'em up." Spike shook his fists, his face twisted into the best scowl he could muster.
Rainbow looked down at him. "I'm not going to fight you. Besides, you know I'd win."
Sighing, Spike dropped his arms to his sides. "I know."
"Spike..." In the following silence, phrases floated through Rainbow's head. Words she had thought up to tell him when this moment came: apologies, sympathies, explanations. But standing in front of him, none of them felt right to say.
"I'll uh," she started. "I'll see you around, all right?"
"Yeah," Spike replied, looking down.
With a wince crossing her face, Rainbow turned away and re-entered the room where Rarity had a few mannequins dressed.
Rarity looked up and intercepted Rainbow. "How is he?" she asked.
Rainbow shook her head. "I don't know."
A white hoof propped Rainbow's chin up. "I'll talk to him later." Rarity flashed a smile, which Rainbow returned.
"Thanks." Her eyes went to Rarity's sewing machine. "So what do I have to do?"
With an air of focus, Rarity led her over to the mysterious purple device. The words "Everstitch PX" had been inlaid across it in a fancy gold font.
A blue aura brought a stretch of rough black fabric over and set the end under the machine's needle. "Here," Rarity said, "you can start by sewing this seam."
Rainbow took a seat at the nearby stool, staring at the fabric in question. "Uh-huh."
Rarity leaned in over her shoulder and pointed her hoof. "It's not that hard, dearie. Simply turn the fabric to follow the line along the pins here. Press the hoof pedal on the floor to get it started. I know you can do it." She gave Rainbow a quick kiss on the cheek and went back to her mannequin.
Still confused on where to even start, Rainbow looked down to the pedal on the floor next to her hind hoof, then to the body of the very fancy and pricey-looking machine that Rarity certainly cared a great deal about. Then she looked at the fragile-looking needle and the cotton beneath. She swallowed.
She gingerly set her hoof on the pedal and gave it a hesitant push. Immediately, the needle skewered the cotton and came back up. "Yes, dearie, just like that," Rarity's voice said. Rainbow pressed her hoof gently on the pedal again. The needle resumed its path through the cotton.
Rainbow carefully turned the fabric to keep the stitching straight. Feeling bolder, she pressed the pedal harder and the machine accelerated. The corners of her mouth tugged upwards. She had to be fast and precise, just the way she liked it. Within seconds, she was running the machine as quickly as it could go. Her wings twitched and fluttered against her sides.
Her minor thrill turned to panic as she realized the fabric was quickly running out. "Uh—" was all she could say before the needle went off the end. By the time she took her hoof off the pedal, a mass of thread had formed in front of her.
Hoofsteps approached. "Rainbow, dearie, you need to put it in reverse for a few inches to finish the seam."
A pair of hovering scissors snipped away at the thread. Wide-eyed, Rainbow stared at the mess. "There's a reverse?"
She could see Rarity smile out of the corner of her eye. Part of the machine's case popped open, revealing a set of arcane machinery, all decorated by even more tangled thread. A disapproving hum entered Rainbow's ears. Quickly, she tried to think of something to distract her marefriend.
"So, Rarity, your parents were nice last week." It would have to do.
"Hm? Oh, yes, Mom and Dad took quite the liking to you. I imagined that you'd get along well." Already her voice sounded more pleasant.
Memories flashed through Rainbow's mind. "That one-on-one hoofball with your dad was awesome."
Bits of thread untangled themselves from the machine. "Yes, you have a very impressive tackle. I'm sure Dad was thankful for the snowbank there."
Rainbow chuckled. "Don't forget Sweetie Belle. She was practically cheering for me."
"I imagine getting most of her information about you through Scootaloo helped with her impression." The tips of the floating scissors surgically cut a knot out among important-looking wiring. "I can only hope your mother and father think as highly of me."
"Hah. Get ready to be The Greatest Marefriend of All Time."
Rarity, having extracted the last of the thread, closed the machine's cover. "You sound rather confident of that."
Rainbow glanced over to see the collection of knots deposit themselves into the trash. "Of course. You're the pony I picked to date. They'll throw roses at you."
A new section of thread emerged from the sewing machine's spool and wove itself through the machinery in an indecipherable pattern. More fabric entered Rainbow's field of view and situated itself under the needle. "I'll look forwards to that," Rarity replied.
Rainbow set her forehoof on the cloth and felt for the pedal with her hind hoof. "There's going to be a ticker tape parade through Cloudsdale with the two of us riding in a carriage. They'll stretch banners across the street: 'Congratulations to the greatest couple ever,' they'll say."
"I get your point."
Smiling, Rainbow started the machine up again. "And you'll get theirs soon. I can't wait; it'll be incredible." She turned her attention back to her sewing.
Rarity held up the clothing that Rainbow had previously worked. "Hm, this isn't bad for a beginner."
"Thanks, babe." Rainbow sped the sewing machine up a little as Rarity returned to her mannequin.
When the new stitching reached the end of the fabric, Rainbow hit a promising-looking button. The machine reversed several inches before she stopped it. Rainbow's wings popped open. "Ha ha!"
Victory was hers.
---
A sparse crowd of ponies sat on the grassy hillside beneath the stars. Some were dressed, others not, but all eyes were on the theatre below. On stage, several ponies and one diamond dog acted out a classic beneath the spotlights. At the top of the hill, Rainbow Dash's wing held Rarity close.
No matter how much she tried to pay attention to the show, Rainbow's thoughts kept straying back to the costume on stage. Her heart swelled with pride. Rainbow wanted to shout her accomplishments to the whole audience, but she doubted that Rarity would appreciate the gesture.
"Thank you so much for helping me, dearie," Rarity said. "I don't know what I would have done without you."
Rainbow looked over at her. "Hey, no problem, babe. I did what I could."
Rarity looked back. "I assume you've never sewn a stitch in your life before then."
"I never was into that stuff." She stretched her wings. "It was kinda fun, though."
"And you jumped right into it and gave it everything you had. That, Rainbow, is why I like you. You never do anything halfway and you never give up, even if it's something you don't want to do." Rarity snuggled up. "That and your wings."
Rainbow chuckled, feeling the warmth of Rarity's body against her own. "Thanks, babe."