Rainbow dreaded that coming evening. As much as she wished it would never arrive, soon enough she found herself on the beach once more with Rarity and Gyro. With the shadowy advance of evening finally marching over the island, it was only a matter of time until the dreaded question was asked.
The other two mares certainly took their time in dragging it out. When they first got on the beach, they didn’t say much of anything for almost an hour. It was almost like they enjoyed watching Rainbow suffer in fear of the inevitable. But, for better or for worse, they finally broke the silence.
“So,” Rarity began, that single syllable heralding the approach of the dreaded topic. “I think we’re both owed a story, aren’t we, Gyro?”
The mechanic snorted in amusement. “It’s about that time,” she said, glancing at Rainbow. “Well? Are you gonna start it off, or do we have to play twenty-one questions?”
Rainbow hunched over, her wings bunching up at her sides. “Mmrfff… You two aren’t gonna just let it go, are you?”
“And pass up an opportunity to get something like this out of a pony like you?” Rarity vigorously shook her head. “Perish the thought!”
“Fine.” The single word felt like Rainbow lowering her head into the guillotine. “What do you wanna know?”
“Why the carefree tomcolt by the name of Rainbow Dash ever felt pressured to embrace her feminine side to woo a potential date.”
“I just wanna know who you were trying to snog,” Gyro said, a smirk accompanying her wink. “I’m getting insider access to the personal life of a former Element Bearer. That’s better than reading about it in a magazine.”
Rainbow took a breath and hung her head, stealing herself for the torment about to befall her. “It was Fluttershy…”
“Fluttershy?” Gyro echoed. She laughed a few times, making Rainbow frown at the sand. “For some reason, I didn’t expect that. But yeah, you two did go to school together, didn’t you?”
“We did,” Rainbow stated matter-of-factly, her words blunt and clipped. “I was a teenager filled with raging hormones. That’s all there is to it.”
“Oh, don’t think you’re going to get out of this one that easily,” Rarity said. “Now that I think about it, I heard the other side of this story from Fluttershy during one of our spa dates. I’m interested to hear what yours is.”
“Boring and uncool,” Rainbow grumbled. “If you already heard it from Flutters, that’s all you need to know.”
“I haven’t heard either side of this thing,” Gyro said. “I really want to hear at least one of them.”
“Go on,” Rarity insisted. “Tell us.”
Rainbow groaned and hid her face behind her feathers. “I hate you two… Fine. You want the story? Here’s the story.”
After a moment to remember blurry details not thought about for many years, Rainbow found herself staring out over the water, away from the two mares on either side of her. “I was thirteen. She was fourteen. We’d been friends for a few years, ever since the rainboom thing. She was always an interesting change of pace to hang out with, because she could keep me grounded in reality when I just wanted to do nothing but fly and race until my wings fell off. I didn’t think much about it then, but I really enjoyed hanging out around her, more than I did my other friends. Well…” she shrugged. “I didn’t really have many other friends. My attitude kinda put other ponies off. Nopony wanted to hang with somepony like me. I made them feel uncomfortable.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Rarity said. “You certainly were over-competitive back then, from what I’ve heard.”
“So sue me. Whatever.” Rainbow pawed at the sand and couldn’t help but let a little smile slip onto the corner of her muzzle. “Puberty hit us like a ton of bricks. About the only thing that grew on me was my wings, but Fluttershy… hoh, Celestia, she was a lanky kid before, but she really started… filling out into her height around then. She got the supermodel body and everything.”
“So I’ve noticed,” Rarity said. “I remember that time Photo Finish came to Ponyville and became obsessed with her. She has the perfect figure for dress modeling. It’s almost unfair.”
“Really?” Gyro asked. “I never could tell. She’s always kind of slouching in any pictures I see of her in the papers and stuff.”
“I don’t think she really wants the kind of body she has,” Rarity said. “I think she’d much rather have had a smaller, less noticeable figure like Rainbow.”
“Yeah, well she had the hot stuff for thirteen year old me, and I was struck,” Rainbow said. “And that’s kinda when I figured out I wasn’t into dudes. But I didn’t know how Fluttershy felt, but I thought it was more on the girly side of things. And you know me; I’m not girly at all, so that was problem number one.”
“Ohhhh,” Gyro said. “I can see where this is going.”
“Yeah. Pretty much. I don’t think my parents knew what to think of it. Suddenly I’m trying out Mom’s makeup and watching what I’m eating, practicing my strut in front of a mirror. I was convinced that I could impress Fluttershy enough to make her fall for me if I just acted like a girl.” Rainbow hesitated and even laughed at herself a little. “Holy crap, I feel so stupid about it now. Like, seriously.”
“Don’t stop now,” Gyro said. “I want to know if you got the girl.”
“What do you think happened?” Rainbow asked her. “When Fluttershy finally confronted me about how I was being so weird and acting like I was more interested in fashion and socializing than the Wonderbolts, I confessed what it was all about. Then she just told me that she wasn’t interested.” She shook her head. “Honestly, if I’d just approached her straight and told her that I wanted to date her, she probably would’ve been too meek to object. But because I spent a month or two acting weird, I think it worried and irked her enough that she just wanted the old me back and figured that getting rid of my delusions was the best way to do that.”
Sighing, Rainbow lowered her head to the sand. “So yeah. That’s that story. Hope I didn’t disappoint.”
“You certainly didn’t,” Gyro said. “It’s fun just getting to know more about two celebrities. I at least have this to enjoy until we get out of here.”
Rarity giggled and patted Rainbow’s shoulder. “That’s about what I know of the story from Fluttershy,” she said. “She knew that you were interested for at least a little while, even before you started acting all girly. Then she was just confused about what you were doing and didn’t know how to voice her concerns. And you’re right, eventually she worked up the courage to say what was on her mind and confront you about it.”
“Good for the both of us, then,” Rainbow said. “I nearly missed relay season over that. I got my act back together quick enough to try out for the team and make it.”
“So how does teenaged Fluttershy compare to Rarity?” Gyro asked.
The look in Rarity’s eyes made it obvious enough to Rainbow to know what the correct response was. “Not even close,” Rainbow said. “It’s not a contest. One was a stupid crush, the other… well, we’ve had sex in the sand, so I think that’s a pretty good sign of things.”
Rarity swatted Rainbow with a hoof. “Don’t be so crass about our extracurricular activities,” Rarity chided her. “Show some respect!”
“At least I didn’t make sound effects,” Rainbow said, sticking her tongue out. She whipped her head to Gyro and grinned. “There’s this one spot on Rares’ side that if you touch it just right, she makes this noise, like—!”
Rainbow suddenly found herself gagged as Rarity’s magic wrapped around her muzzle and held her jaws together. “That’s enough out of you, Rainbow,” Rarity said. “Otherwise I’ll tell Gyro where you’re ticklish.” She winked at the mechanic and added, “It’s near one of her wings.”
“!!!” Rainbow flailed against Rarity’s magic and frowned at her, and a moment later the blue field disappeared. “Hey! Let’s not say things we can’t take back!”
“I’m gonna be a wealthy mare by the end of this,” Gyro said. “I’ll get so much money in blackmail bribes, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“Shut up,” Rainbow said. “We just need to find your ticklish spots. Then we’ll all be on even ground!”
“I’ve got them, but you won’t find them,” Gyro said, winking and darting her pink tongue out of her muzzle. “And it’s not like you can blackmail me with them. I’m not a celebrity!”
“I’m sure you’ll be one when we get back from all this,” Rainbow said. “One of the few who survived.”
“Yeah, well that’d be something wouldn’t it?”
“It would.” Turning to Rarity, Rainbow smiled at her. “Well, I told my story. You’re next, Rares.”
Rarity blinked. “Oh… me?”
“Yes, you.” Leaning against Rarity’s shoulder, Rainbow poked her in the chest. “What, you thought you were gonna get away with only tormenting me? Now I want to hear one of yours.”
“Yeah,” Gyro chimed in. “If I had popcorn right now, you can bet I’d be eating it. Just pretend that’s what I’m doing.”
“Well… I suppose.” Rarity shook her head. “I need a drink, first.”
“Don’t we all?”
“Of water, Rainbow, but I suppose that works too.” Standing up, Rarity spun in place and briskly trotted back to the camp. “Be back in a minute!”