//------------------------------// // Would You? // Story: Feathers Are in Style // by Void Chicken //------------------------------// The snows of early winter drifted from the night sky. Below, two marefriends left their hoofprints side by side in the snow, leading to the door of their home. Rarity magically pulled the door to Carousel Boutique open and stepped inside. "That was a lovely date, dearie." Rainbow Dash followed her in, closing the door behind them. "Yeah, and it had good chow, too. We gotta go back there sometime." Rainbow's wings swept the snow off of Rarity before she shook herself off. She then pulled off a section of her dress and held it out for her marefriend to take. As soon as her final garment was off, Rainbow yelled, "Race you to the shower!" She took off and flew a well-practiced path through the storefront, up the stairs, along the hallway, through the bedroom, and into the bathroom, landing in the shower stall. A few minutes later, she walked out past Rarity. "All yours, babe." Rainbow occupied herself with a book from a nearby shelf while Rarity bathed. Once she heard the shower shut off, she set her reading material down next to the Best Young Flyers' Competition trophy on top of the shelf. "Hey." She looked towards the door. "Happy anniversary, babe. A whole year since we started dating. Can you believe it?" Rarity walked out of the bathroom with her mane and tail wrapped in towels, which she magically set to rubbing dry. "I wonder what next year will bring." Rainbow hopped into bed. "More of all this awesome, I hope." A towel set returned itself to the bathroom. If Rainbow knew Rarity, it had neatly organized itself back on the racks out of sight. Rarity set herself into bed, placing her back to Rainbow's stomach. Rainbow wrapped her legs around her marefriend. Rarity pulled the sheets over the two and a flicker of magic on her horn sent the room into darkness. Rainbow took a deep breath and let out a contented sigh at the sensation of Rarity's body heat against her. "Dearie?" Rarity asked in the dark. "Yeah?" Rainbow replied to the back of her head. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately." "About what?" "About settling down. Starting a family." Rainbow adjusted her gentle grip. "A family? You mean having a foal? There's kind of a problem there." She could feel Rarity shift as well. "Well, we could always adopt. Or I understand there are magical means. It might be my biological clock ticking, I suppose." "Mine must be broken. Like, I've never really thought about becoming a mother." She motioned the best she could under the covers. "I mean, try to imagine it. Me, a mom? Trying to take care of a foal and stuff? Not to mention working that around everything else, like the Wonderbolts." "I've been putting a lot of thought into the idea, is all. A young pony for us to raise together." Rarity paused.  "I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? We haven't even talked about marriage. I love you, Rainbow. And you love me, right?" "Of course I love you, Rarity. More than anything else." Kept silent was the thought: Married. Do you take this mare to be your wife. Forever and ever. No changing your mind, ever, no matter what. Till death do you part. Rainbow tensed up. Her eyes darted around in the dark. Rarity then said, "Then if I asked you to marry me, would you?" Rainbow half sat up. "Wait a second. That's it? Of all the things I expected from you, Rarity, proposing to me in bed was at the bottom of the list." Rarity half-turned her head towards her. "I am not asking if you will marry me. I am asking if you would, if I were to propose." "Oh." Rainbow lay herself back down again and worked her leg under Rarity to resume their cuddle. "Well..." Wedding dresses, rings, and 'I do's swam through her mind. She couldn't find an answer. "It's okay, dearie," Rarity answered for her. "It's a big decision, so there's no need to rush things. Good night, Rainbow." "Yeah, good night." Rainbow lay in the dark holding the pony she might marry, lost in thought. --- Rainbow Dash knocked on the door. The afternoon sun hung in the sky while she waited for a response. Soon it opened and a familiar face appeared. She didn't bother waiting to be greeted. "Fluttershy. I need your help." Like she had so many times before, Fluttershy let Rainbow in. Rainbow wiped the snow off of her hooves and hustled into the center of the cottage. "I gotta talk to you. It's about Rarity again." Rainbow looked Fluttershy in the face. "But you can't tell anypony!" She pointed her hoof at the animals that hadn't gone to hibernate for the winter. "None of you, either!" "We won't tell a soul. Did you have another fight?" Fluttershy shrunk a little and looked down. "Worse. She wants to marry me." Fluttershy immediately perked back up and opened her wings. "Oh that's wonderful! What did you tell her?" "I didn't know what to tell her! I didn't tell her anything! It's been three days now and I don't know if I want to marry her or not!" Rainbow paced back and forth. "She asked you to marry her and you didn't answer? Oh dear." Fluttershy's wings dropped. "No no, she didn't ask me to marry her." She stopped to address her. "She asked if I would marry her." Fluttershy looked confused. "I'm not sure I understand the difference, but I'll do what I can to help. I'll put some tea on." She left to her kitchen for a few minutes before returning. "While we're waiting, tell me how you feel about marrying her." Rainbow resumed her pacing. "Marriage is like, this huge thing, with a big ceremony and wedding dresses and... it's not even the ceremony part of the whole thing. I can wear a dress, walk down an aisle, and kiss her just fine. But it's everything after that. I mean, we've been dating for a year and I love her to pieces. But there's a year, and there's forever. Do I want to do this for my whole life? I got a whole lot ahead of me, you know? I feel like a little filly being told she has to choose her cutie mark." She sat down and stared at Fluttershy, searching her face for answers. "This is all so... grown-up." "I can imagine this is very hard for you to decide. Let me get the tea." Fluttershy left again and came back carrying a platter in her mouth with a kettle and two cups. She placed a cup in front of each of them and filled them with the steaming hot liquid. "Here. This should help you calm down." Rainbow picked up her cup and breathed the vapors in. The scent of blueberries and strawberries filled her nose. A sip brought on a fruity taste to match. "Now," Fluttershy said, "I certainly can't decide for you. But I have a technique I use when an animal asks me about becoming another's mate. I'm not sure how well I can change it for ponies, but I can give it a try." "Sure," Rainbow replied. "If it'll help me work this out." Fluttershy took a sip of her own. "All right. Close your eyes and relax." Rainbow let her eyes shut and took a deep breath. "Okay," Fluttershy's voice came through the darkness. "I want you to imagine yourself spending time with Rarity. Maybe um, doing your chores." Rainbow found herself smiling. "Or maybe you're sharing a nice meal. Or snuggling up together in the same bed. Or um, letting her make a dress for you. Or her being there at one of your shows." There was silence as Rainbow's imagination roamed. After a moment, she cracked open an eye, but a quick "Keep them closed, please," from Fluttershy shut it again. "Okay, once you've done all that, I want you to imagine being by yourself. Doing those chores alone." The corner of Rainbow's mouth tugged down. "Or eating by yourself. Or sleeping in a bed and she isn't there, and won't ever be there, because you're not with her." Rainbow's eye twitched. "Or um, flying in a show and she's not in the audience." Rainbow's eyes popped open and she set down her cup hard enough to spill it. "Okay, I've had about enough of this," she growled. She expected Fluttershy to shrink away or apologize for upsetting her. Instead, Fluttershy took a sip and smiled bigger. Rainbow paused in her confusion, then laughed. "All right, all right. I get it." She took a deep breath and gazed at the ceiling. "That's how it is, huh?" An idea struck her. "Fluttershy, can you do me a really huge favor?" --- A week later, Rainbow looked herself over in the bedroom mirror. She shook herself out, trying to dislodge her nervousness. She looked at her neck, where she'd draped a red and orange scarf and tucked it in snug. She checked the top of her head and adjusted her purple beanie. She held a second blue hat and scarf under one foreleg. All right. No backing down now. Rainbow took a breath. Here goes nothing. She bolted through the air out of the bedroom, grabbing a sled she'd left in the hallway. She stopped in the Boutique storefront, where Rarity was hard at work on a dress. "Hey Rarity we're going sledding!" she shouted. Before Rarity had a chance to react, Rainbow bumped the front door open and flew out. Rainbow hovered ten feet in the air outside, her breath coming out in puffs in the cold winter air. It took only a few seconds for Rarity to emerge after her. "Rainbow, dearie, I'd love to, but I am very busy with—" she was interrupted by Rainbow tossing the second beanie and scarf down to her. "Come on come on come on!" She flitted in the general direction of the outskirts of town. Rarity put on her beanie and scarf. "Really, I don't see why it's so important that we go sledding right now." Rainbow flew backwards, leading Rarity away from the Boutique. "Because! I cleared the sky out and everything!" She waved at the cloudless sky above her. "Now come on!" She flew just quickly enough that Rarity had to keep her pace up to match her. Before long, they found themselves at the top of a steep hill. Rainbow threw the sled down onto the snowy top, then sat her rump in front. She took the thick rope attached to its bow into her forehooves. Rarity reluctantly climbed on behind her. "Dearie, I'm not sure this is very safe." Stretching into the distance ahead lay several rocks, snowdrifts, and an array of stumps and bare trees. "What?" Rainbow looked back. "I dodge worse stuff than this every day. Hang on tight, babe!" She shifted her weight forward and the sled began to move. As it accelerated, Rainbow could feel Rarity wrap her forelegs around her chest. A lean to the left avoided a collision with a stray stump, followed by a tilt right to dodge a rock. Rainbow felt the exhilaration of the cold air rushing past her face. There was always something special about speed without wings, especially shared with the mare she loved at her back. An outcropping caught her eye. She leaned over to route her way there. Rainbow heard a shout behind her as the sled sailed off the edge. Her wings sprang open, held straight out. She grabbed the edges of the sled with all four of her hooves, and she felt Rarity's hind legs scrabbling for purchase across her body. The wind whistled while they glided over the obstacles of the slope. Rainbow felt her marefriend hanging on for dear life. The ground rushed up at them. Just before impact, Rainbow beat her wings to slow the fall to a gentle landing, and gravity continued pulling the vehicle down the slope. Eventually they reached the base of the mountain, and the sled's inertia was exhausted. Rainbow hopped off and turned around. "That was pretty sweet, right?" Rarity breathed heavily with her hoof to her chest. "Is that what it's like to be you all the time?" She took a few more breaths. "Hay yeah!" She struck a pose. "Thanks to this body, I can do that all I want! And we're doing it again!" She used her wings to hop over, then grabbed the sled's rope in her mouth. She hovered just over the ground, and beat her wings to propel the sled and the pony sitting atop it up the hill. "Rainbow, while your body is very impressive and I am quite fond of it, I'm not sure I have it in this body to repeat that." "Just one more time, babe. I promise," Rainbow said through the rope. Rarity made an uncertain noise. They quickly reached the top of the hill again and Rainbow seated herself back on the front of the sled. Rarity gripped her harder than she did on the previous run. "I swear we went up that hill faster than we went down it," Rarity commented. Rainbow grinned. "Oh, really?" She opened her wings. "Rainbow Dash, don't you dare—" she'd never finish the sentence. The sled spewed a plume of snow behind it as it streaked down the hillside, Rarity screaming the whole way. Finely-honed reflexes made avoiding obstacles trivial as Equestria's fastest pegasus and its temporarily fastest unicorn set Ponyville's downhill sledding speed record. After an all-too-short trip, they reached the base of the hill again. Friction would not stop the sled this time. A large snowdrift rushed to meet them, and pegasus, unicorn, and sled alike became personally acquainted with it. Rainbow flailed around in the white fluff for a few moments before finding her way to the surface. By the time she'd freed herself, her marefriend was already progressing with clearing the snow off of her body. Rarity's beanie was nowhere to be seen. Rainbow watched her for a moment, then piped up. "Hey, babe." She waited half a second, then grinned. "You missed a spot." A snowball impacted Rarity's flank before she had a chance to respond. Rarity turned to face Rainbow. Rainbow hovered just off the ground and tossed a snowball from hoof to hoof. "C'mon, babe. Show me what you got." Rarity looked at her. "What has gotten into you today, Rainbow?" The reply sailed through the air and narrowly missed Rarity's face. "Oh, you're in for it now, Rainbow." Rarity's horn lit up and some snow clumps hovered into the air next to her. A snowball flung itself towards Rainbow, who caught it with her cheek. Rainbow rubbed her face. "All right, it's go time." Snow flew back and forth between them. After several misses and a few hits, Rainbow called down, "You're lucky I love you so much, babe, or you'd be feeling my winged snow slap right about now." "Is that right, dearie? Is my Rainbow Dash growing so soft she won't try to win anymore?" Rarity smirked at her. "Okay, you asked for it." Rainbow scooped up a foreleg full of snow from the snowbank next to her. Rarity set her stance wide and lowered her head. A few spins and a smack launched the white mass towards her. After one more spin of follow-through, she inspected her work. Rarity was not there. "Huh?" Rainbow asked. "Where did you—" She felt a grip on both of her rear hooves and a yank downwards. Rainbow Dash found herself swinging down in a wide arc that ended, face-first, in the snowbank. Rainbow sat up, still half-buried, and shook the snow off of her face. "All right, babe," she said, "I know when I'm beaten. Good job." A purple beanie levitated its way onto her head. Rarity looked entirely too proud of herself. "Yes. It was a good job." Rainbow finished climbing out of the snow. "What do you say"—she shook the rest of the snow off of her body—"we hit the spa? Get inside where it's warm." "The spa?" Rarity looked surprised. "It's been a long time since you've wanted to go." "Yup." She dug around for the sled. "I think I need a massage after all that." --- Two marefriends entered the Ponyville Day Spa. Rainbow shivered at the feel of the warm air hitting her skin. The two spa workers approached. "Ah, Rarity! It is always nice to see you again!" Aloe said. Or maybe it was Lotus. Rainbow could never remember which was which. "Likewise," Rarity replied. "My dear Rainbow here would like a massage, and of course, I'd like to join her." "You are in luck today!" the other spa pony chimed. "Two arctic foxes have volunteered to help with those!" Two white fuzzy faces poked around the corner of the doorway farther in. Rainbow made eye contact before they vanished again. "Oh," Rarity said. "What a lovely coincidence. I've had some excellent massages from foxes in the past." "I haven't," Rainbow added, "but if they're that good, then I'm going to be glad I came." They made their way into the back, and Rainbow lay herself face-down on the massage table, with Rarity on the table next to her. A fox climbed up and got to work. Little white paws, careful to keep their claws retracted, put weight up and down Rainbow's back and across her wings. Her body melted under their treatment, carefully guided by Aloe and Lotus, who stood nearby. She was certainly glad she came. I need to ask Fluttershy for favors more often. "It's been so long since I've had a fox massage, I'd forgotten how they feel," Rarity cooed. "Gotta tell the Wonderbolts to get some," was the only reply Rainbow's mind could assemble. "Spitfire'll make me flight lead." After a lengthy session of paws walking across their bodies, Rainbow Dash and Rarity left the spa, thoroughly grateful for the treatment. Outside, the sun had moved most of the way to the western horizon. "Rainbow dearie," Rarity said, "I think that more than made up for your little stunt with the sled and the snowballs." "Mmm." Rainbow remembered herself. "Wait a second, we're not done yet! How about you and me go for a walk through the Whitetail Woods? Just the two of us, chilling out alone." Rarity looked back towards town. "I'm not sure I have the time, but I have the feeling you're not going to take no for an answer." Rainbow hovered in front of her. "You got it, babe." Suspicion came to Rarity's face. "But this had better not be another excuse to hit me with a snowball." "No snowballs. Pinkie Promise." Rainbow did the motion the best she could remember. "Cross my heart et cetera." Rarity smiled. "Then lead the way, dearie." --- The pair walked in the silence of the Whitetail Wood together. Ahead of them stretched the white path between bare trees. Behind them were only two sets of deep hoofprints. And between them was a feeling Rainbow could barely describe. Rainbow savored the experience, alone with the pony she loved. She could feel her wingtip brushing Rarity's flank as they moved, a constant reminder of her presence. This is it, she thought. This is exactly what I want. Her mind paused for a second. I hope I didn't go too far with the sled and the snowballs. I mean, she got that awesome massage, right? She said it was okay. It was okay. The thick snow muffled any noise either made, save only the crunching beneath their hooves. Motion ahead of them caught their eyes. Both ponies looked to see a pair of snow buntings landing on the branch ahead. One of the white birds opened a brown wing and wrapped it around his mate, who snuggled up under him. Rainbow responded by laying a blue wing across Rarity's back and pulling her closer. Rarity giggled and gently butted her head against Rainbow's. After they passed, Rainbow turned her head to see both birds looking back at her. She winked and the pair flew away. The two soon came to a clearing at the top of a hill. A single bare tree stood just off to the side. Ahead, the town of Ponyville lay under a blanket of snow, with the empty sky above and the sun just turning a shade of orange. But just ahead, on the very top of the hill, lay a white and blue blanket. On the far side stood a simple wooden table, with a thermos and a plate of cucumber sandwiches. Rarity smirked. "So this is why you wanted to go on that walk." "Well, I figure since my old house is gone, this is the next best thing, right?" Rarity stepped onto the blanket to examine the sandwiches. Rainbow looked to her side at the tree. Just then, a squirrel ran out onto a branch. It gave her a quick salute, turned, and skittered back down the tree and out of sight. Rainbow walked up and sat at Rarity's side, putting her wing around her in a maneuver that she'd performed countless times before. Rarity snuggled herself up under Rainbow's soft warm embrace. "This is quite lovely," Rarity said after several sandwiches and most of the hot cocoa had been consumed. "I hope we get to do this for a long time." Rainbow chose to hum in contentment as her reply. Yeah, we will. She sighed. The sun's almost down. Let's do this. "Rarity." Rainbow unwrapped her wing, stood up, and walked in front of her. "When I met you way back when I moved to Ponyville, I assumed you were this snobby wanna-be Canterlot unicorn who didn't care about anything but her own success. But when I really got to know you, I discovered the gentle, caring, and, well, generous pony you really are. And when I dragged you to that silly festival thing in Canterlot and you cheerfully pretended to be my marefriend, I realized that I wanted to be with you for real." Rarity watched her in silence, her eyes moving ever so slightly. Her lips twitched to one side to match the almost-imperceptible tilt of her head. Rainbow continued, "Spending this past year with you, you've shown me the most beautiful and amazing things Equestria has to offer. I've seen passion and determination and love and everything else wonderful that I want to be a part of. You've made me want to be a pony worthy of your love. And I'm going to do everything I can to be that pony. In fact, I know I've never wanted anything more in my life than to spend the rest of it with you." She reached out with her wing, scooped up a small box hidden at the base of the tree, and with a motion she had practiced a dozen times, passed it to her hoof and opened it. Rainbow looked her marefriend in the eyes. "Rarity, will you marry me?" Rarity gasped and raised her hooves to her mouth. Her body rocked with her deep breaths. Tears formed in her eyes. "Y... yes. Yes," Rarity choked out. Rainbow shot forward and wrapped her forelegs around Rarity, setting her head on the base of her neck, nuzzling her nose under Rarity's scarf. She immediately felt the gesture returned. Despite her planning, Rainbow couldn't help but tear up a little herself. They separated and Rainbow held her box up again. "Let's at least put these on." She sniffled. Rainbow carefully removed an earring from the box. She reached up towards Rarity's left ear and, after a few attempts, threaded its post through her piercing. Feeling around behind it, she managed to get the earring nut on and secure. Once Rainbow backed away again, Rarity's magic took up a second earring and floated it out of sight to her left. She felt the clip latch onto the edge of her ear. Rainbow looked at Rarity's face and let herself soak in the view. Standing ahead of her was the mare who just agreed to marry her, with a cloud and lightning bolt hanging from her ear. Rainbow saw Rarity sniffle again. Her makeup had run slightly, but Rainbow didn't care how Rarity looked. All that mattered was that they were together. All the while, Rainbow was a little glad she never wore makeup herself. "Hey," Rainbow finally said. "How's it look?" Even if she couldn't see it, she could feel the weight of the three blue diamonds hanging from her ear. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Rarity answered. Rainbow grinned. "Yeah I know that, but how's the earring?" Rarity snorted, then started laughing. Rainbow cracked up herself and leapt forwards into her, knocking Rarity over into the snow. The two rolled around until Rainbow was on her back. Rarity stood over her, her face silhouetted against the darkening sky. Rarity's earring, Rainbow Dash's own cutie mark, swung on her ear. She leaned her head down, offering a kiss which Rainbow gladly took. Rainbow kept her eyes open this time, focused on that earring, hardly believing that her symbol was on Rarity's face, that Rarity's symbol was on hers. They parted again. Rainbow smiled up at Rarity. "It's getting cold," Rarity said. "I don't care." Rainbow opened her wings a few inches against the snow she was embedded in. "If we're going to be spending the rest of our lives together, it wouldn't do to freeze to death now." Rarity stepped away to give Rainbow room to stand. Rainbow rolled over and got to her feet, instinctively shaking herself off. "There's no arguing with that." Rarity faced back towards down. "And I suppose we should remove our earrings before we head back to town." "What? Why?" Rainbow was flabbergasted. "Because I do not want to risk being seen with them and word getting around before we are ready to announce our engagement. Our friends should hear from us, not the local rumor mill." Rarity's magic gripped her own ear and slipped Rainbow's cutie mark out. She reattached it to the inside of her scarf. Rainbow reluctantly reached up and unclipped her earring. She held Rarity's cutie mark in her hoof for a moment before clipping it inside her own scarf. Rarity went on, "We can put them back in once we get home. There's nopony coming over tonight, after all." She walked down the hill towards Ponyville. Rainbow flew after her. "Sweet. I'm going to spend tonight checking out my earring in the mirror."