//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Ace Flier // by nixf //------------------------------// Rarity’s couch was one of exquisite taste and styling. Every contour of the hoof-made creation was set out to provide a refreshed take on the peak of designer furniture. It was more than just a couch, it was a statement about what it meant to be living room furniture. It was also incredibly uncomfortable and Rainbow Dash’s back was making that last part all too well known. Sleep had not come all that easy for her the previous night, but in truth the couch’s uncomfortable design wasn’t the only reason. She had spent most of the night tossing and turning as her mind got caught in a loop of Rarity’s words. Her five closest friends were all galloping ahead of her, while she still felt like she hadn’t even taken her first step in the relationship. A first step that she just couldn’t seem to work out how to take, leaving her stranded on the starting line of a race she would never finish. The feeling was an infuriating one. She couldn’t stop herself worrying about what her friends would think when they realised that she wasn’t able to be a proper marefriend to them. Eventually she felt her eyelids grow heavy, and with the darkness she finally slipped into a shallow sleep. Unfortunately her sleep was ruined only a few minutes later as Rarity’s front door downstairs slammed open. Groaning, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to see Twilight running past her and towards the stairwell that led to Rarity's bedroom, a checklist held in a magical aura trailing behind. Rainbow Dash had barely managed to sit up before she heard a shriek from Rarity. She looked over with a smirk, even Rainbow Dash knew better than to interrupt Rarity’s sleep. Twilight was shoved out of the bedroom stairwell in a flash of magic from Rarity, and Rainbow couldn’t help laughing at the alicorn sprawled on the floor. “Rarity, this is important!” Twilight groaned as she pulled herself back onto her hooves, rubbing her flank that had hit the floor first. There were entirely unintelligible complaints from the bedroom. The grumbling from Rarity upstairs was far too muffled for Rainbow Dash to make out anything she was trying to say. “You know as well as I do that Rarity does not like to interrupt her beauty sleep,” Rainbow Dash chuckled from the couch, leaning on the hoof-rest with her hoof holding up her head. “Oh, Hi! I didn’t see you there,” Twilight spluttered out in embarrassment, caught off guard at Rainbow Dash’s presence. “Clearly.” Rainbow Dash didn’t even bother suppressing the eyeroll. “Aren’t you meant to be in Canterlot until the weekend?” “I’d like to know that as well” Rarity growled as she left her bedroom, a nightgown hastily wrapped around her. She shot Twilight a glare with all of the fury of a thousand scorned lovers. Rarity tried to give off an air of professionalism, but even Rainbow Dash could see the bags under her eyes. Midnight was not Rarity’s favourite social hour and it showed. “Firstly, sorry for bothering you. I know that it is very late, but I teleported here as soon as I found out.” Twilight began. “It’s going to get later if you don’t get to the point,” Rainbow Dash groaned, flopping back onto the couch and staring at the ceiling. “Please, Twilight. What is wrong?” Rarity asked gently, stepping over to Twilight as the fury in her dropped to a mild level of irritation. “So, do you remember how we had a sleepover in Canterlot last week where we-” “I think we all agreed to never bring up what happened!” Rarity interrupted, shoving a hoof over Twilight’s mouth. A glare from Twilight made Rarity quickly remove her hoof. “Okay, now I have to know what happened.” Rainbow Dash sat up on the couch, finding herself very interested. “Did you get a little frisky in public or something?” “Define, public?” Twilight weakly asked, a blush very visible on her face. “We had a sleepover in the throne room and forgot to wake up before court was scheduled the next morning. So some of the palace guards may have gotten an eyeful of the five of us in rather inappropriate attire,” Rarity huffed, though there was a red tinge appearing in the edges of her cheeks as well. “Wish I’d been there to see that,” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “So you have a few guards get to see you in a way that’s not entirely foal-friendly. What’s the big deal?” “Well it wasn’t meant to be a problem, but I guess somepony decided to talk. So I just found out that the Canterlot Gazette is running a story about us tomorrow. So now I need to deal with this,” Twilight complained. “Why does it matter if some newspaper runs some story about you hooking up with some friends?” “It matters because my royal position isn’t exactly as perfect as we are all pretending. I do actually need to care about my public image, even if it is incredibly annoying and the news should learn to mind their own behinds.” Twilight shot back, panic seeping out of her. “Twilight, be calm.” Rarity gently told her, nudging her with a hoof. Twilight paused and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, Rainbow Dash recognised the breathing technique from Princess Cadence. She also knew that if Twilight was resorting to breathing techniques then she was stressing out a lot more than normal, which was saying something for the slightly neurotic princess. “What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked Twilight, making sure to keep her tone as even as she could. It wouldn’t be smart to stress Twilight out any more than she already was. “What she means is that the nobles have been putting pressure on Twilight to offload a lot of the day to day problems onto them, and some of them have been trying to use her apparent inexperience to get support from the other nobles to get her position changed to a purely ceremonial one.” Rarity responded, giving Twilight a little longer to regain her composure. “So, just tell them no. You raise the sun, it’s not like they can do it. You could probably just get rid of them so they stop bugging you.” Rainbow Dash didn’t see what they were making such a big deal about the nobles. “I’m not trying to make enemies with them,” Twilight explained, much calmer than she had been earlier. “I also actually do want them to deal with some of the daily tasks, Rainbow. There is far too much for just me to handle on my own. Also, the nobles are still part of the system that Princess Celestia set up to manage how laws are handled in our kingdom. Their house is formed to review and amend laws from the common house. I can’t just ignore them, they are meant to be a representative counter to the peers of the pony population.” “I still think that you could tell them to go jump in a lake,” Rainbow Dash huffed, “but sure. I get that they are a problem for you.” “It’s not just a problem for me,” Twilight bit her lip nervously. “Do you remember what I had you sign?” “Yeah?” Rainbow Dash did not like where this was going. “It was for a conjoint marriage with some elements of a concubinatus. That way we would all be joined, but it also ensures that I don’t need to renounce my position. Otherwise my position would become untenable.” Twilight explained as clearly as she could. “Even I didn’t understand that and I worked on it with you,” Rarity sighed. “Rarity, just tell me what's going on, please?” Rainbow Dash asked with an eye roll. “The current laws that govern Equestria restrict the leading monarch, in this case that would be our dear Twilight, from entering into a marriage. If she does marry then she will be forced to pass the role back to a suitable ruler.” Rarity explained. “What, give the crown to Blueblood?” “NO!” Rarity was aghast at the very prospect of Prince Blueblood running anything more complex than a tea cup. “The nobles might be fools, but they are not idiots. If Twilight had to step down, then it would force Luna or Celestia to take back the throne until a replacement can be found. The nobles aren’t exactly happy with Twilight, so they have been looking for any way to drag the sisters back. Obviously none of us want to take away their first chance to have a holiday in a millenia.” “They seem to be under the impression that dragging the sisters back will let them go back to the way that things used to be.” Twilight groaned. “It doesn’t matter how many times I explained that they didn’t want to return, the nobles are stuck on the fantasy that the Princesses will return to rule. So Rarity and I wrote up a document that would allow us all to be together, but also specifically exclude us from actually marrying.” “Which is very disappointing to me” Rarity cut in. “Which is disappointing to all of us even if it is a restriction that is only on paper,” Twilight huffed before continuing. “It meant that we would be together, but would also appease the nobles who would reject the wedding in fear that I would transfer the power over to one of you or your descendants. However it did mean that we couldn’t exactly be complete equals in our union. So I had to fuzz the definitions a bit.” “What did you do?” Rainbow Dash was sick of Twilight talking around the issue, she did not care what the nobles wanted. She just wanted to know what Twilight’s plan was. “Well, this is why I wanted to go over it before you signed anything. I made it so you five are...well...subservient to me.” Twilight admitted, the blush returning to her cheeks. “You what?” Rainbow Dash’s mouth was agape as her mind finally realised what Twilight’s plan actually meant. “I know you are a princess, but I was hoping that this union thing was going to be something a fair bit more equal between us.” “Well, it wasn’t meant to actually matter.” “How?” Rainbow Dash asked, incredulous that Twilight would even think to go through with such an asinine plan. “I made sure to add a lot of qualifiers to make it clear that you wouldn’t actually be required to do anything if you didn’t want it. It was just legal protection that would stop the nobles from messing with your lives. If I didn’t do this then you would’ve all been in line for the throne and the nobles would not have let us be together without it becoming an even bigger headache. The idea was to have it all be basically defined the same way, but with some awkward wording to have it be a proper union in all but name. There were nearly no actual compulsory duties in it at all.” Twilight explained. “Which means that we are all beneath you?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Is that really how you want this union to happen? And what is this compulsory nonsense?” “Of course that isn’t what she wants, and it’s not what is going to happen.” Rarity shot back. “It’s all mostly unenforceable nonsense to get the nobles off of my back.” Twilight huffed. “None of this actually requires any of us to do anything that we wouldn’t want to do anyway. We made it so that being your normal affectionate selves is your, um, duty.” “I’ve signed enough legal stuff with the Wonderbolts to know that stuff like this can bite you on the rump,” Rainbow Dash pointed out, doing her best to put the affection part out of her mind. That was a problem for future Dash to figure out, she needed to focus on one apparent disaster at a time. “Then you should’ve actually read it before signing,” Rarity muttered just loud enough for Rainbow Dash to hear. “I understand your concern, but I did think this through.” Twilight pointed out. “If it wasn’t for the Canterlot Gazette claiming in tomorrow’s front page that I am trying to set you all up to be future princesses of Equestria, then this wouldn’t have even mattered.” “Wait, they said what?” Rarity’s eyebrows were raised so high they were in danger of disappearing into her mane never to be seen again.  “I’m handling it! I just need to push some of our plans to happen earlier. Otherwise the nobles would use this as a pretty convincing argument that I am unsuited for the throne. If they convince enough of the commons, they could actually achieve that.” Twilight explained. “So, how are you going to fix this?” Rainbow Dash asked, a faint feeling of discomfort settling on her at what this could mean for her. “It’s not that much of an issue, really. We just need to ‘accidentally’ let slip the fact that we are herding and the media won’t even be able to run the story without looking like fools. I’ve already asked a pony from the Canterlot Times to run a story against it.” “Why would they agree to that?” Rainbow Dash frowned. “Why would they agree to run a story tarnishing the reputation of another newspaper by giving the true story alongside actual evidence?” Twilight asked, the hint of a devious smile slipping through her innocent grin. “Clever mare, they must’ve jumped at the chance” Rarity chuckled. “They tried to offer me bits for it,” Twilight rolled her eyes, “I swear every pony is incapable of remembering that I am the ruling princess.” “You still could’ve taken the bits,” Rainbow Dash offered, Rarity and Twilight shot her with glares of disappointment. “What? It’s impolite to reject a gift.” “Anyway...” Twilight dragged the conversation back on track, ”if we just reveal that we are all actually in a union together then this all works out fine. I get to be more open with all of you, the media gets to run a story about that instead of what they were going to run, and the nobles aren’t able to complain about it as I already sorted out what they would complain about. Win, win, win, right?” “I guess?” Rainbow Dash wasn’t fully convinced, but she didn’t really feel like she could disagree. “So now I just need to plan an entire royal wedding in a few short weeks, and the first question is to see how far along Rarity is with the bridal gowns.” Twilight admitted, magically pulling her checklist in front of her face and jumping between sections. A quill appeared next to her before being magically shoved into the parchment as she started making additional notes. “Wait a few weeks?” Rainbow Dash asked, but Twilight didn’t even look up from the floating checklist before disappearing in a flash of teleportation. In the silence, Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, before both silently agreeing that one in the morning was not the best time for a chat. Rarity quickly wished her a good night before returning to her bedroom, hoping to return to the world of slumber. Rainbow Dash curled up back on the uncomfortable couch and settled into a restless night. “I hope you had a good night’s sleep” Rarity called out as she entered the boutique’s living room, giving the couch a kick to jolt Rainbow Dash awake. “I’ve already prepared breakfast, though it is almost late enough to count as lunch.” “Your couch is super uncomfortable” Rainbow Dash complained as she sat up, stretching to try and get the knots out of her back. She didn’t have much success and she could already tell that her back was going to be sore for the rest of the day. “I did offer you my bed,” Rarity sighed as she headed over to the kitchen. “...fair point,” Rainbow Dash sighed as she dragged herself over to the dining table, yawning with every sleepy step. “You still managed to sleep away half of the morning, so I’m guessing that the couch wasn’t the only reason that you’re a bit grumpy today,” Rarity pointed out as she levitated a plate of hay strips down in front of Rainbow Dash. “I’m just wondering what this union thing actually is now.” Rainbow Dash frowned, picking through the food in front of her but not yet taking a bite. She was feeling too bitter to actually enjoy the well produced breakfast in front of her. “Like, are we still her friends? Do we need to do things? What even is it?” “Ah, well the answer to that is a tad awkward,” Rarity admitted, levitating a second plate over to the table that was soon joined by a teapot and matching tea cups. “The history of the law is controversial to some ponies.” “Rarity, just tell me.” Rainbow Dash wasn’t in the mood to listen to Rarity waffle on for half the morning. “Celestia and Luna weren’t allowed to marry as the council feared that it would allow their partners to claim ownership of the throne.” Rarity explained as she settled down beside Rainbow Dash, pausing to pour herself some tea. “I’m sure you can see the issue with that.” “I’m not in the mood for guessing,” Rainbow Dash said with a groan. “It meant that they could have close friends, but anything beyond that was seen as improper. So they were forced to hold back and keep themselves remote from those that they cared about.” Rarity sighed, a wistful look fading from her face. ”This didn’t work out well. Like all ponies, they had urges just the same as you or I.” “Hmm,” Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure that she entirely agreed with that last part. “So they added a law that the ruling princesses would be allowed to have a herd of courtesans who would fulfil their physical and emotional needs. However, to get it passed by the council, they needed to make it clear that their courtesans wouldn’t be able to assume the rule of the country. So the law was amended to mark them as lessers.” Rarity explained, though she was frowning as she finished. “So, we’re lessers to Twilight?” Rainbow Dash really did not like the sound of that idea. “I was under the impression that this was going to be something a fair bit more equal between us.” “It’s just an on paper thing, it mostly doesn’t change anything. She is a princess already, so I’m not sure we could really be considered equals regardless.” Rarity did her best to placate Rainbow Dash. “Mostly?” Rainbow Dash asked bluntly. “We can worry about that later,” Rarity waved away Rainbow Dash’s concerns, “Honestly as soon as we have a proper wedding then this all matters a whole lot less. Oh just think of the romantic possabilities of it all. The five of us walking down the aisle, Twilight waiting to receive us. It’s a dream that will soon come true for us.” “Sure,” Rainbow Dash returned to her meal, but paused before taking another bite as a thought occurred to her. “When did you say that you started working on the wedding dresses?” “Last week, as soon as we were back from Canterlot,” Rarity swooned. “I just had so many ideas swirling in my mind that I just had to get out before they vanished.” “Last week?” Rainbow Dash frowned as she realised what was going on. “And now you look more annoyed than before,” Rarity sighed. “What’s the problem now?” “You already knew, didn’t you?” Rainbow Dash asked acidically.  “Already knew what?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow as she daintily levitated a small morsel of food on a fork up to her mouth. “You’ve already got the dress designs ready, you’re dreaming on it, admit it. You already knew about the wedding stuff,” Rainbow Dash shot back bitterly. “You knew that you got caught being inappropriate, and that Twilight would need us to rush through a wedding, didn’t you?” Rarity slowly finished the mouthful of food before settling the utensils back down on her plate with a sigh. “I didn’t exactly know, I just put two and two together and figured out the inevitable.” “So you did know!” Rainbow Dash accused her. “Well, I didn’t fully know. I just heard a rumour here or there.” “You lied to me. You told me that it wasn’t a race.” Rainbow Dash spat out her words angrily, realising that Rarity had lied the previous night about them waiting for Rainbow to work out what she wanted. She narrowed her eyes, angry that Rarity hadn’t just told her what she needed to know from the beginning. “Yet now apparently we have basically less than a week to get properly hitched.” “I didn’t realise that it was this soon?” Rarity tried to explain, but Rainbow Dash didn’t want to hear it. She was sick and tired of her friends trying to keep things from her just because it was easier. It seemed like every day there was just a bigger and bigger gap between her and the others. “I don’t believe that you just guessed. You knew!” Rainbow Dash shot straight back, ignoring Rarity trying to defend herself. “You lied to me yesterday, didn’t you?” “When did I lie?” “You told me that I could take my time, but that clearly isn’t an option.” “Dashie,” Rarity sighed, sliding closer to Dash, putting a hoof on Rainbow’s. “This may not be exactly optimal, but it isn’t the end of the world. It’s just a ceremony where we all get to show that we love each other. You don’t have to worry about being ready for anything else. I promise that we won’t push you into that.” “I guess,” Rainbow Dash looked at the cooling hay strips in front of her, unsure how to respond. Sure, it was good to know that Rarity at least kind of understood her worries, but it felt like there was a bigger problem. She just didn’t know what it even was. How was she supposed to tell Rarity that she had not yet worked out if she loved her friends properly, or if she was stuck thinking of them as friends. Heck, she hadn’t even worked out if marrying them as friends was even a problem. It did feel like one though. “Dash?” Rarity asked gently, giving her a gentle nudge. “I need to think,” Rainbow Dash pushed away the food and got up before making her way back down to the ground floor. Rarity trailed behind her. “You can stay and think.” Rarity asked carefully. “I just need to not be here,” Rainbow Dash sighed as she reached Rarity’s front door, shoving it open and stomping out the open door. She heard Rarity call out something to, likely about her foul mood, but she didn’t stick around to listen. She just wanted to be on her own. Though she was kicking herself for not finishing the haystrips. Rarity had cooked them to perfection and it felt like such a waste to leave them to go to waste.