//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Uncommon Tastes // by Iamanoobatwriting //------------------------------// Chapter 3 The sun was starting to set, and the moon was somewhat visible in the sky. Rarity hummed as she prepared for the date she and Rainbow Dash would have. She then remembered that it wasn’t really a “date”, but just Dash teaching her how to fly properly. As she put on an extravagant dress and fixed her hair, looking fancier than normal, Sweetie Belle knocked on her bedroom door. “Come in, darling.” She merrily said as she was still humming and fixing herself up. As her younger sister came into the room, they raised an eyebrow at Rarity and were confused why they were dressed so fancy this night. Sweetie Belle had also noticed that she and Rarity had not argued for a day or two, and was wondering why her sister was in such a good mood. “Are you going on a date with a handsome stallion?” Sweetie Belle asked excitedly with curiosity in her voice and her eyes lit up happily. Rarity blushed and shook her head no. It wasn’t a handsome stallion she was going to spend the night with; she thought as she looked at her younger sister who still stood excitedly in front of the older unicorn, it was a beautiful Pegasus named Rainbow Dash. “Actually, I’m going to take flight lessons with dear Rainbow.” Rarity said happily as she brushed her hair, cheerfully looking at herself. The younger pony was now much more confused than before. “Then why are you dressed up so fancy? And flight lessons?” Sweetie asked as looked up at her older. She then noticed Rarity had gained pegasus wings. “Yes, darling. I can’t be late for it, so I must go now. You can invite any of your little friends if you’d like while I’m out.” Rarity said quickly as she went down the stairs, leaving her younger sister inside her bedroom. As she looked up at the starry night, she could not see Dash anywhere. She frowned and strolled along Ponyville gradually, observing the skies to see if she could find the cyan Pegasus anywhere. Finally, she did and saw that as usual, Rainbow was sleeping on top of a cloud. She hovered into the air leisurely and touched the loud snoring pony’s shoulder tenderly, which to Rarity’s surprise, actually woke Rainbow up. “Rainbow, dear,” Rarity whispered into Dash’s ear as she went next to them on top of the cloud. “Have you forgotten what you told me earlier today?” The tired Pegasus positioned themselves while still on the cloud and laid on their back, finally opening their eyes slowly and looked up. Rainbow Dash saw the unicorn smiling at her and gave Rarity a tired but affectionate smile back. “I haven’t forgotten, I was just waiting for you.” Dash lied to them and finally stood up groggily. Rainbow had forgotten that she had told the other pony that she’d teach them a thing or two about flying. She then noticed that Rarity had overdressed themselves and giggled at them. “What’s wrong, dear?” Rarity raised an eyebrow at the giggling pony who was trying to cover their own mouth with a forehoof. “Why are you wearing something so fancy if I’m taking you out to practice your flying? You’re probably going to ruin your outfit!” Rainbow sneered at them. Rarity then became self-conscious about herself and turned away from the pegasus who had stopped laughing once they noticed Rarity was embarrassed. Rainbow didn’t mean to sound unkind and touched Rarity’s shoulder softly with a forehoof. “Didn’t mean to sound mean, Rare. Sorry.” Rainbow apologised sincerely to her friend who blushed. The unicorn smiled at them and accepted the apology. “Anyways, you still want me to teach you about flying?” the pegasus asked as they darted higher up into the sky with a big smile on their face. Rarity remembered what Dash had said; that she was probably going to ruin her dress while practicing and nodded her head no. Rainbow somehow read Rarity’s mind and had an idea. There was a fifty percent chance that Rarity would kill her for it, but she didn’t want to be woken up by the unicorn just for nothing. She flew back to Rarity, who was still on the cloud and took their dress off quickly, trying to be careful and not wanting to rip it. The unicorn’s eyes widened from surprise, but in Rarity’s mind, she actually kind of liked it. “We’ll just keep the dress here and come back to it later. Anyways, let’s start with your first lesson. I remember umm.. most of the stuff that I learned back in flight camp.” Dash chuckled at Rarity as she held a hoof out to the unicorn before flying off. They had flown all around Ponyville and Rainbow taught Rarity how to fly faster and how to crash less. It was awkward for the first 20 minutes, but Rarity was a quick learner and soon Rainbow had tried to teach the unicorn basic aerial tricks. It had been hours as they spent their time together, ending their lesson shortly and just wanting to glide around Ponyville. Rarity was happy that she and Rainbow Dash were starting to get to know each other a little more than usual. The only times that she and the cyan pony had ever hung out together was when it was with other friends. This time was more special than ever and was happy that she spent time alone with somepony she liked. “So how are things with uh.. work?” Rainbow tried to make small talk with Rarity as they sat on top of a hill, taking a break from flying around. Rainbow had taught Rarity all the basics about flying, and after three hours, they were both exhausted, but had fun the whole time. “It’s all good. Busy, tiring, so many demands.. I wish Photo Finish would come again and ask me to make a dress for her.” Rarity sighed as she lay on her back next to the Pegasus who was still sitting up. The sun was rising, and the two both yawned which meant that it was time to go back to Ponyville. As they flew back to the cloud where Rarity had left her dress, Rarity had told Dash that she was too lazy to go back to her own place. “You wanna stay here with me? It’s just for the morning, you can leave whenever.” Rainbow suggested shyly. She didn’t think that somepony such as Rarity would want to sleep over with her, but the unicorn tiredly agreed to it. It was Sunday, which meant no work today for Rarity, she thought as she slept soundly next to the pegasus who felt awkward. The unicorn moved closer to Rainbow, and fell asleep in their arms, much to Rainbow Dash’s embarrassment. Dash had blushed at the thought, and thought that Rarity was probably dreaming of a handsome pony who wanted to cuddle with her. --- Once Rarity awoke, she could hear noises from below and saw that it was already lunch time. It was barely a busy day, but she saw most ponies gather around the town square and hang out with their friends or family. After stretching to wake herself up, Rarity softly kissed the sleeping cyan pony’s forehead who twitched a little bit. Rarity was surprised and hoped that Rainbow Dash wasn’t awake, so before the other pony could wake up, the unicorn had already flown down. She decided to plan a spa date with Fluttershy so she could tell them what happened during the night. “Are you two going out now?” Fluttershy asked happily as they relaxed in the hot tub. She was so excited for her friend, but sadly couldn’t really express her joy like how she really wanted to, due to her introverted personality. The unicorn sighed, she hadn’t told Rainbow Dash the feelings they had for them, but Rarity hoped that Rainbow now knew after the cuddling incident when they slept on top of the cloud early in the morning. “I wish!” Rarity exclaimed sadly and hugged Fluttershy for comfort. “But ponies would think that my relationship with the ‘arrogant, impetuous’ Rainbow Dash would be outrageous. Oh, ponies would make rumours up about us, or say how we wouldn’t be perfect for each other. I’m not sure if I could handle any horrible remarks such as that!” The unicorn tried to summon a fainting couch, but forgot they were inside a hot tub. The couch had splashed water on both ponies, which made the yellow pegasus roll her eyes at her overly-dramatic friend. “I don’t think ponies would think that, Rarity.” Fluttershy smiled reassuringly at them. “Besides, there’s a saying that opposites attract.” The other pony was unconvinced by Flutters but thought about the saying the whole time before leaving the spa. She and Rainbow were opposites, and she did develop feelings for the tomcolt mare. “Maybe it is true…” Rarity thought and calmed down. --- Months had passed as Rarity and Rainbow Dash had continued their flight training. The unicorn was almost as good as the pegasus, which turned into a friendly competition between the two ponies and included light banter with each other as they raced sometimes. One day as they flew around at night, Rarity finally had the courage to tell Rainbow how she felt for them. It was when they sat on top of the hill they always hung out on ever since the first day of when Rainbow had taught her how to fly correctly. “Yeah, Flutters was always too scared to fly too fast or do any tricks. Kinda boring, to tell you the truth, and she knew it too. But it was fun sometimes.” Rainbow groaned as she lied down on the grassy plain of the hill. There was wind during those nights since it was close to winter, and the Pegasus was shivering slightly but didn't want to show it in front of Rarity. But the unicorn knew that Rainbow was cold and as usual, cuddled with them to make them warm. As always, Rainbow would blush and cuddle back as they looked up at the night sky. “Rainbow, would it be weird if I told you that I liked somepony who wasn’t like me?” Rarity asked shyly. Dash’s eyes widened, and were curious to what the other pony had meant as they buried their head into Rainbow’s shoulders. “What do you mean, Rare?” Rainbow asked with a lot of interest in her voice. “Well, they’re not as classy as me… Or fashionable as me.. They’re not as polite as me-“Rainbow rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the seemingly negative details that Rarity kept listing things about the mysterious crush they had and wanted them to get to the point quickly. “Heh, it kinda sounds like you’re talking about me.” Rainbow jokingly chuckled at Rarity. Suddenly Rarity became quiet and her eyes widened. Dash was confused and looked at the sky and tried to think who Rarity meant. “Do you mean me?” Rainbow asked after a minute of silence. She had grown feelings for Rarity ever since she saw how fun-loving the usual uptight snobby pony was, but could never imagine that somepony who was like Rarity could never like somepony like her. “It….. is..” Rarity said softly as she sat up to look at Rainbo whose eyes widened from disbelief and didn’t know what to say. “Kidding, right?” Rainbow giggled at the pony, but then stopped laughing once she saw that Rarity had a serious look on her face. Before the pegasus could say anything, Rarity had quickly planted a soft kiss on her lips. Rainbow was now even more surprised, but kissed Rarity back for a few seconds as they fell flat on the grass. Once they sat up again, they felt the awkwardness between each other and were silent for a few seconds. “You know, instead of a lesson, how about a date?” Rainbow spoke up courageously, and the question made Rarity blush. “Yes!” Rarity squeaked with delight and hugged the other pony tightly. Instead of lessons every night, they were always dates as they flew off to places around Equestria, either having picnics or just cuddling under the night skies. They had promised to keep their relationship a secret, but the two could not keep it a secret any longer since their friends became suspicious of how touchy feely they both were with each other when they all hung out. Once they told the others about their relationship, all their friends except for Spike were happy for them, and eventually everypony in Ponyville knew about it. It was the opposite of what Rarity had expected; instead of ponies degrading on her and Rainbow Dash, people thought that it was lovely how the two finally found someone they could happily be with. --- It was finally close to Hearth’s Warming Eve and the Carousel Boutique was as busy as ever because of so many demands for new clothes for the holiday. The store would always close late at night and poor Rarity was stressing herself out. “So many requests..” She always groaned that week before going to bed. Her friends were there to help, and they too became exhausted from being so busy. Applejack couldn’t really help since she had to help out with the farm, and Rainbow Dash had weather patrol and always came over to the store once it was almost closing time. Fluttershy would sometimes come and help, but she had to take care of all of her animals and in desperate times due to the weather, bring them to the store. The only two ponies who could really help were Twilight and Pinkie Pie. After a week of nerve-wracking labor, the unicorn was exhausted and needed the comfort from her pegasus. “Rarity, wake up.” Twilight shook her friend softly as Rarity fell asleep while making a scarf for her Dashie. It was finally the end of the busiest week in all of Equestria, and Rarity wanted to make something for Rainbow to keep her warm during the harsh weather. “Huh, what!?” Rarity said as she accidentally hit her head on the sewing machine. She was drooling and wiped the saliva off of her mouth, being disgusted since that was the first time that had ever happened. “Where’s Dashie?” The tired unicorn asked Twilight as they looked around sleepily. The store was empty, and Twilight and Spike were the only ponies left. “Either on weather patrol or practicing her ‘cool’ moves for the Wonderbolts.” “Oh, Rainbow dear must be so cold right now!” Rarity exclaimed as she finished making the scarf, which was the colour of the wonderbolt’s outfit. Twilight was amazed at how quickly the other unicorn could make clothes and was happy that Rarity had cared so much for Rainbow Dash. As Rarity hurried out of the shop holding the scarf in her mouth, she dropped it on the cold snow as she saw Rainbow talking to Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts and was seen laughing with them. Rarity knew that the encounters Dash had with Spitfire before included them flirting with each other, which made the unicorn rage with jealousy. She kicked the snow with a hoof and walked back inside, not even taking the scarf she had made for Rainbow with her. “Oh that cheating little.. ugh!” Rarity cried out in a frustrated tone as she dropped to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Twilight was still in the shop and came to her friend’s assistance. “What happened?” Twilight asked as she comforted her crying friend, tears ruining her mascara. “She’s with Spitfire..” Rarity said in between her sobbing. She finally calmed down and sniffled a little bit, before rage was seen in her eyes. She slammed a hoof on the carpet before crying again. Twilight rolled her eyes at her friend, knowing how dramatic she was before rubbing a hoof on the crying unicorn’s shoulder to calm them down. “It’s just a misunderstanding, Rarity.” Twilight tried to reassure her friend as they started to cry harder. “Rainbow Dash is a loyal pony; she would never cheat on you.” But sadly, Rarity didn’t listen but calmly told Twilight to go. The purple unicorn understood and went out of the shop quickly, leaving Rarity all alone. After Rainbow Dash was done talking to Spitfire, she happily went to the Carousel Boutique and wanted to tell Rarity about the news of Spitfire asking the other pegasus to join the Wonderbolts. Once she was already in front of the doorstep, she noticed a scarf that was designed with the colour of the Wonderbolt’s outfit, including the lightning. As she picked it up, she also saw that it had her name written on it. She then figured that Rarity had made it for them, but wondered why they hadn’t given it to her, and so she wore it. Rarity at times would spend her time making clothing for Rainbow Dash at times, instead of doing work. She’d even give her little presents to Dash while the pegasus was either practicing or in weather patrol. As Rainbow came inside the Carousel Boutique, she was shocked and saw that Rarity was lying on the floor, sobbing. “Rare, what’s wrong?” She asked as she quickly came to the other unicorn to assist them. But once Rainbow had tried to hug the bawling mare, they pushed the pegasus away. “I saw you! I.. I saw you with Spitfire!” Rarity screamed coldly at them as tears ran down her face. The cyan pony backed away from the angry pony and frowned. “You’re misunderstanding, Rare. Spitfire and I were talking about-” “Yes, lie to me, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity hissed at her. “I know what you and Spitfire are up to. I’m not stupid!” Rainbow rolled her eyes at them, but before she could say anything, Rarity used her magic to force Rainbow out of the shop, locking the door too. “Rarity, let me explain! You’re overreacting!” Rainbow she said as knocked on the door repeatedly before she started to cry. “Damn, unicorn.. So dramatic!” She uttered to herself as tears streamed down her face before flying away. Rarity had fallen asleep after crying so much. Once she woke up, it was already dark and she was now calm. She could see it snow heavily outside even though if it was dark. “Oh, no! What have I done?” She asked herself angrily. She knew that she had overreacted and was regretful that she yelled at Rainbow like that. As she stepped out into the cold dark night, she flew around to search for Rainbow, but couldn’t find her anywhere. “Rainbow Dash!” She yelled into the sky as her wings were somewhat fragile due to the snow that descended on top of it. She sighed and knew that she had ruined everything for her and the pegasus. “I guess it’s all over..” She muttered under her breath as a tear ran down her cheek. Suddenly, the pegasus flew right behind her. Rainbow had been watching her the whole time ever since Rarity had called out their name. “Why?” Rainbow asked as her voice cracked. “Why did you yell at me without letting me explain what happened when I talked to Spitfire?” The cyan pegasus did not want to tear up since she was so hurt by the other pony, but choked since she couldn’t hold them back any longer. Rainbow could not see the unicorn’s face and only saw a silhouette of them as they were floating up in the night sky. “You and Spitfire would always flirt before… I thought that she was hitting on you as usual.” Rarity had started to cry a little too. Before she could turn to Rainbow Dash, the pegasus had flown closer to the unicorn and put her arms around their waist and hugged her tightly. “That was before. I’m with you now, Rare.” Even though if Rarity couldn’t see it, the other pony had a heartfelt smile on their face before kissing her on the cheek. As she turned to look back at Rainbow Dash, she kissed the other pony intensely as they kissed passionately under the moon. The skies had become clearer and as the two ponies hugged each other, and they didn’t feel as cold as they did before. The unicorn then noticed that Dash was wearing the scarf she had made for her. It was for when the pegasus was out patrolling during the weather condition. Rainbow noticed Rarity looking at the scarf and smiled. “You’re.. wearing it.” Rarity was surprised that the other pony did, who just nodded their head. She hugged Rainbow Dash again, but heard them sigh. “Darling, what’s wrong?” Rarity said as she looked up at the pony that looked dark blue under the light of the moon. “We need some time apart from each other.” Rainbow spoke quietly as she turned away from them as she started to fly away slowly. She knew how sad Rarity was and that she probably broke their heart, but ignored it. Rarity gulped and tried not to choke, knowing that she was about to cry again. It was all so sudden; she thought that she and Dash had made up, but then guessed not. “After what happened today, I just need some time alone. I have to practice my moves for the Wonderbolts. Spitfire told me she’s been watching me for a while and wants me to join the team.” Rarity was quiet for a moment but then said okay. Before she could say anything else, the pegasus had bolted away, leaving a rainbow trail behind them. Rarity was alone again as she was still flying in the windy, snowing sky. Once she had flown back home sadly, she went to check up on Sweetie Belle who was asleep already. Rarity hadn’t cried so hard for a long time that night. She knew she had made a big mistake, and wanted to go back in time to prevent it from happening. Little did she know that Discord had sensed her and Rainbow’s arguement, and the unfair judgement and jealousy that Rarity had. Discord was still frozen as a statue due to Twilight and her friends, but still had some power to control ponies. As the unicorn was asleep, Discord had hypnotised her into falling in love with something else, and he laughed in his mind thinking that maybe Rainbow Dash would become jealous too. --- Hope that wasn’t boring. Thanks in advance if you liked it! If you review it, maybe you can suggest me ideas for what to happen in the later chapters, and maybe I’ll use it. Thanks again.