//------------------------------//
// Sentimentality 
// Story: Feathers Are in Style 
// by Void Chicken 
//------------------------------//

Rainbow Dash stirred in the bed before her eyes drifted open. The first thing she saw was the view out the window. Scattered clouds floated above the green landscape. Flowers here and there reached towards the sun. Birdsong floated in the window, their singers celebrating the early springtime. A thought drifted into Rainbow's mind that Fluttershy might have taught them those tunes before it drifted out again.
 
The familiar tingling in her nose reminded her with whom she'd spent the night. Slowly, she pulled the velvet red blanket off herself and rolled out of bed. With a deep, loud yawn, Rainbow stretched herself out. A few shakes of her head dislodged some mental cobwebs. Rainbow smacked her lips and scratched her belly. Some stamping of her hooves on the blue carpet got her blood flowing.
 
Rarity entered through her bedroom's doorway. "Dearie, I could hear that yawn from across the house."
 
"Mornin', babe." Rainbow yawned again.
 
"Yes, like that. I assume you slept well?"
 
Rainbow stretched again. "Like a fresh stratocumulus." Noticing the confusion on her marefriend's face, she added, "Uh yeah, really nice."
 
Rarity moved to a shelf and looked over some rolls of fabric. "I thought so, considering the difficulty I had getting out of your grip when I woke up."
 
"You know,"—Rainbow smiled—"with all the sleeping over I've been doing, maybe I should just move in with you."
 
"I had considered the possibility." She moved to face a bolt of satin and scratched her chin.
 
Rainbow's smile was replaced by surprise. "Really? I was just joking around. I mean, I'm not saying I don't want to, I guess I haven't really thought about it."
 
"Like you said, we've spent enough nights together over the past few months. It is only natural that we live together." Rarity pulled out the roll and ran her hoof over it.
 
Rainbow looked at the fabric, too, though she didn't understand why that one was significant. "Well, you can't live in my house. Since you can't fly, you know."
 
"And I have the Boutique to attend to. You would have to live here." She levitated the bolt to a half-dressed mannequin and stepped back to examine the addition.
 
"I'd have to put my stuff in the guest bedroom, I guess." Rainbow didn't see anything special about the fabric and the mannequin. How Rarity could decide what combinations of fabrics and colors were better than others was lost on her. Rainbow supposed that it was just one of those things about Rarity.
 
Rarity frowned and returned the bolt to its place on the shelf. "I need to keep that room available for when Sweetie Belle or my parents come over." She looked across the purple walls of the bedroom. "Some of your favorite belongings can be in here, of course. Hmm. Reconciling our living preferences is not going to be easy."
 
Rainbow walked past Rarity, partially to give her a pat on the back with her wing, but primarily following the scent of warm bread wafting in through the door. "I know you like a challenge, babe. You'll pull it off—Is that breakfast?"
 
"I was waiting for you to wake up before we ate." She made her way downstairs.
 
Taking flight and rounding a corner, Rainbow saw Sweetie Belle at the table with a grin on her face. She froze and dropped to the ground, blood running cold.
 
"Relax, dearie," Rarity said, "I cooked our breakfast today."
 
Rainbow let out a breath. "Oh, thank Celestia. I forgot she was staying over tonight and when I saw her with the food... whew." She patted her chest a few times and walked to the table. A nearby fork let Rainbow skewer a pancake.
 
Rarity took a piece of her own. "The storefront will have to be clear of your personal items. It has to keep up appearances as a proper business, after all." She applied a dab of syrup and took a bite.
 
"'Kay," Rainbow said through her mouthful.
 
"What are you talking about?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Did Rainbow run out of room in her house? Because I have some room in mine."
 
"Sweetie Belle," Rarity answered, "Rainbow Dash is considering moving in and living with me from now on. We just have to work some details out."
 
"Yeah, like the change of address forms at the post office." Rainbow retrieved another pancake.
 
Sweetie Belle turned to Rainbow. "So when I come visit you'll be here too?"
 
"When I'm not out doing stuff, sure." She motioned with her wing towards the window.
 
"Then I can stay overnight sometime!" Sweetie said. "We can try on Rarity's dresses, and go camping in the backyard, and have singing contests!"
 
Rainbow's eyes widened ever so slightly. "I'll think about it, Sweetie," was the best reply she could come up with. Rarity stifled a laugh.
 
Sweetie's eyes brimmed with anticipation before turning quizzical. "So what'll happen to your old house?"
 
Rainbow thought for a moment. "I guess it'll just sort of..."—she made a vague motion with her hooves—"blow away."
 
"Really?" Rarity interjected. "That'll be such a dreadful shame."
 
"Huh?" Rainbow looked over at her. "Pegasi make their own cloud houses, so it's not like I can sell it for anything. And there's no point in keeping the place around if I'm not going to live in it."
 
"Oh, I suppose." Rarity's face gained a wistful look. "I'm just going to miss visiting, that's all. We had our second date there, remember? We sat on top of those clouds and cuddled while the sun set?"
 
Rainbow saw the sunset in her mind. Her wing remembered the feeling of Rarity snuggled beneath, munching on a sandwich. She nodded. "Yeah, but now we can see each other all the time. And there'll always be clouds to sit on."
 
Humming in thought, Rarity returned to her breakfast. Her sister and her marefriend followed suit.
 
After they finished eating, Rarity spoke up. "Oh! Sweetie Belle, you should get going or you're going to be late for school." A saddlebag hovered from the counter onto her sister's back.
 
"Aww okay. I'll see you this afternoon! Bye, Rarity!" She waved and scampered through the door. "Bye, Rainbow!"
 
As soon as Sweetie Belle closed the door, Rainbow flew to a high spot on the wall. "Okay, I'm thinking we get Applejack to put a shelf in right here, and I stick some of my trophies on it."
 
"I thought I said you weren't going to have any of your effects visible in the Boutique." Rarity walked underneath her. "While your achievements are certainly admirable, this is still a dress shop, and I must ensure I present it to my customers as such."
 
Rainbow motioned along the wall. "No no, see, if they're this high up, they won't be able to tell they're mine. I'll mix in a couple of the ones you got from all those fashion shows, and it'll look like this place won every award in Equestria."
 
Rarity clicked her tongue. "I'm not sure that trophies of pegasi flying would convince my patrons."
 
"We can put those in the back." Rainbow's hoof poked the spot on the imaginary shelf.
 
"And I do get pegasus customers. They'd be able to see the awards up close."
 
"They'll understand. I'm sure every fancy business does it." Rainbow nodded.
 
Rarity turned away. "I don't recall seeing anywhere displaying awards for other businesses." She paused. "Then again, I've never examined them very closely."
 
"Exactly!" Rainbow crossed her forehooves.
 
Rarity's ears perked forward. "I'll think about it."
 
Rainbow descended slightly. "We can stick a bookshelf in the bedroom and load it up with my Daring Do collection, no problem." She looked towards the hallway.
 
"And place some of your less subtle trophies atop it."
 
"You mean the big ones. That works for me. I like looking at the big ones, anyways." She grinned.
 
Rarity couldn't help but crack a smile. A newspaper awaited her back at the table. Rainbow floated down behind her.
 
Rarity's eyes crossed over an article. "Oh, they're repairing Town Hall again."
 
"That place is a lightning rod, I swear." Visions of yet another round of carrying building materials crossed Rainbow's mind. Her muscles felt sore at the thought.
 
Rarity gasped. "Oh no!"
 
Rainbow looked to the page. "Huh? What happened?"
 
"The Silver Horseshoe went out of business!"
 
Rainbow landed. "Finally."
 
Rarity lowered her newspaper. "I beg your pardon?"
 
"What? That place was awful." Rainbow walked to the other side of the table.
 
"Awful?" Rarity stood up.
 
Rainbow looked at her. "Come on, there was hardly ever anypony in that place. It's a wonder it took this long to run out of money."
 
Rarity's voice grew louder. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
 
"I don't know; it's pretty hard to forget how bad the food tasted, Rarity." She certainly couldn't.
 
"It was where we had our first date!" The dishes on the table clinked as Rarity pressed her front against it. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
 
"Our first date would have meant just as much at the Hayburger to me." Rainbow leaned a little across the table herself.
 
Rarity sputtered. "Th-th-the Hayburger?!" She made a few more unintelligible noises. "The Hayburger would have been an awful place to make that memory!"
 
A beat of her wings brought Rainbow into the air, forehooves propped on the wooden surface. "You mean a memory of edible food!"
 
Rarity placed her own hooves up. "And here I thought you'd finally appreciated the finer things in life!"
 
Rainbow was nearly in her face. "Pig slop is not fine!"
 
"Pig—! The Silver Horseshoe was the first taste of proper dining that Ponyville's ever had!" Rarity shouted back.
 
"And I'll be happy to never have another bite!"
 
"You... you uncultured oaf!"
 
"Stuck-up snob!"
 
"Crass simpleton!"
 
"Self-centered prick!" Rainbow turned and flew towards the door.
 
"And where do you think you're going?" Rarity stomped after her.
 
"Somewhere I don't have to listen to you! In fact, I think I'm keeping my house!"
 
Rainbow opened the door and shot into the sky.