//------------------------------// // Purple Is Not Your Color // Story: Cuddling // by cooopercrisp //------------------------------// Chapter 14: Purple Is Not Your Color Rainbow Dash, what are you doing? Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she trailed behind Rarity on their way to Carousel Boutique. Rainbow Dash felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach, and that was an altogether foreign experience to her. Already, she was having second doubts about this venture, but she had set the wheels in motion and in her opinion there was no turning back now. You already turned her down, she continued to think to herself, so why are you suddenly so eager to hang out with her? It isn’t…no, no way that can be it. You can’t be falling for her now! But why not? Rainbow Dash asked herself. She’s certainly a nice enough pony, and she’s the Element of Generosity. Also, she’s not too bad to look at. You’re going to tear her apart over this, Rainbow Dash tried to tell herself. If you tell her how you feel now, if that’s how you feel now, then she’s not going to believe you. She’ll think you’re just trying to throw her for a loop, and then you can forget about ever being her friend again. But she already confessed that she loved me. Maybe there’s still a small part of her that hopes, just like there’s a small part of me that hopes to make it into the Wonderbolts someday. That’s a pipe dream and you know it. Don’t tear her apart! “Rainbow Dash, are you all right?” Rarity asked. “You seem to be spacing out a little bit.” Great, now she’s starting to notice something funny. “I’m fine, Rarity. Just thinking…” “I already told you I was okay.” “Not about that!” Rainbow Dash lied. “I was thinking…what if I got into the Wonderbolts someday?” Rarity tried to let her friend down easy. “They’re an awfully hard group to get into. Not that you aren’t talented, I mean, you pulled off that Sonic Rainboom just to save my life. I’ve never forgotten that day, by the way. Sometimes I still dream about it…” At this Rarity stopped talking and turned her head to hide the blush she could feel rising through her cheeks. “I know it’s a long shot,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m not stupid. But there’s just a little part of me that still hopes. Do you know what that’s like?” For a second, Rarity felt something stir inside her. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said. “Oh,” Rainbow said flatly. “Well, it’s enough to keep me going every day through my boring old weather job.” “Goodness, we’re here already!” Rarity cried as she came upon her boutique. “Let me just unlock the door and you can come right in.” “Okay,” Rainbow Dash said, resisting the effort to roll her eyes at the obvious. Rarity fumbled for her keys before finally finding them in her saddlebag. She then unlocked the boutique and held the door open for Rainbow Dash. “Thanks,” Rainbow Dash said. Rarity beamed but tried to hide it. The two of them got situated upstairs, where Rainbow Dash found a mess of fabric and pony mannequins strewn all about the room. “And I thought my house was messy,” she said. “It’s an organized chaos,” Rarity replied. “Whatever you say, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash said. “Not like I’m one to judge.” “Well, naturally I don’t keep the store looking like this,” Rarity said. “I noticed,” Rainbow Dash said, recalling the pristine conditions of the store downstairs. For a while, Rainbow Dash simply sat in a stool behind Rarity as she worked on a few designs. Occasionally, Rarity would ask Rainbow Dash about whether to use a blanket stitch or what color should adorn the trim. Rainbow Dash said whatever Rarity thought was best was probably pretty good. Rarity always sighed and returned to her work. After quite some time had passed, Rainbow Dash wondered if coming here had really been worth it after all. She was absolutely no help to Rarity, and as the minutes rolled by she felt an itching need to bolt out of the house and soar into the stratosphere. But she stayed grounded, determined to figure out whether to get this weight off her chest. I’ve got to lead up with something, do something that shows I care about her, Rainbow Dash thought. Maybe I will model some clothing for her after all. It’s not like I haven’t done it before… Rainbow Dash remembered complaining the entire time she had sat there. She knew if she was going to get into Rarity’s good graces, she’d have to curtail that complaining, something of which she wasn’t sure she was capable. I’ve got to try, though. “Rarity,” Rainbow Dash said, interrupting the white mare’s train of thought. “What is it, darling?” Rarity asked. Rainbow Dash’s butterflies fluttered a bit higher at the sound of the pet name. “I feel absolutely useless. I’m just sitting here, not offering you any kind of help whatsoever. What’s the point of me being here if I can’t help you?” “Oh, but Rainbow Dash, I ever so much enjoy your company,” Rarity said. “And it’s nice to air my questions out in the open. It helps me think of an answer without the awkward feeling that I’m talking to myself.” “Well,” Rainbow Dash said, a little taken aback at the strangeness of Rarity’s comment, “you said you had a client with my body type. Maybe I could model a few things for you?” “You actually want to model outfits for me?” Rarity asked. “That’s it. You’re obviously an impostor. Get out of my house.” Rarity, of course, was only joking, and it showed in her smile. “Well, it’d be more useful than me just sitting here,” Rainbow Dash said, “so why not?” “If that’s the way you feel about it, I guess I can take you up on your offer. Luckily, my client is also a pegasus, so the outfits already have holes to fit your wings through.” “Oh, right,” Rainbow Dash said. “I didn’t even think about that.” “It always pays to be attentive to detail,” Rarity said. “Let me get one of the outfits right now. You just stand on that platform over there and look pretty.” “Look pretty?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Oh, darling, it’s only a figure of speech,” Rarity said with a laugh, but she turned away to hide her blush again. Why did I say that? she thought. Rainbow Dash did as she was told and stood on the platform while Rarity fished out one of the outfits. It was a gossamer dress of amethyst with a pale pink trim. Rainbow Dash thought it would look absolutely hideous on her, but she told herself to tough it out. “Let me just magic this on for you,” Rarity said. “I can dress myself, you know,” Rainbow Dash griped. “Darling, the material is very delicate. I wouldn’t want you tearing it.” “All right, fine,” Rainbow Dash said before remembering she wasn’t supposed to be complaining. Guess this is harder than I thought. Once the dress had been skillfully put on the form of Rainbow Dash, Rarity stepped back and stifled a giggle. “What is it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Well dear, let me just say purple is not your color.” “I was thinking the same thing,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked at herself in the mirror. “The dress also doesn’t fit well,” Rarity said, and Rainbow Dash had to admit she hadn’t noticed that. “It’s too wide at the shoulders and too narrow at the hip. And my client and you I swear have almost the exact same measurements. Whatever was I thinking?” “Can it be fixed?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I can trim the shoulders back, but dealing with the hip is going to be a more difficult problem. Oh, well, I suppose I’ll just get another dress for you to try on.” Rarity took the dress off of Rainbow Dash and returned to the closet. Rainbow Dash stood there waiting patiently. The next dress Rarity brought out was a lime green, not unlike the color of Fluttershy’s gala dress. That color had looked nice on Fluttershy, but it was going to clash horribly with her fur. “Do I really have to try this on?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It’s going to look ugly.” “I never took you as vain, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said. “Well, I do have to look awesome, at least,” Rainbow Dash said, thrusting her chest out in front of her to look more important. Rarity laughed. “I promise it won’t be on you for very long,” she said, and she placed the dress on Rainbow Dash. Just as Rainbow Dash had suspected, the dress looked hideous on her. Rarity decided not to comment on that, though. “It’s far too frilly in the train,” Rarity said. “I hadn’t thought it would look quite so ugly, but that’s an easy fix. Now I have one more dress for you to try on…” Quick as a flash, the dress was off Rainbow Dash and Rarity was already back in the closet looking to fish out the last dress. She brought out a ruby red dress with black beads adorning the bodice. Even Rainbow Dash had to admit that it didn’t look half bad. Rarity swiftly placed the dress on Rainbow Dash, and she was taken aback at how well it suited her body. It was like the dress had been tailor made for her, fitting perfectly from the shoulder all the way down to the train. Rainbow Dash looked at herself in the mirror and almost blushed at how beautiful she looked. “That is…quite nice…” Rarity said, losing her breath. For a while, the two ponies stood there, Rarity looking at Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Dash looking at herself in the mirror. Rainbow Dash broke the silence with a question. “Is there anything off about the way this dress fits?” she asked. “What?” Rarity asked. “Oh, right, the dress. It seems to fit perfectly. I won’t have to make any alterations to this one.” The two stood there again, and Rarity didn’t even try to hide her flushed cheeks. “Doesn’t this thing have to come off?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Right, of course, sorry,” Rarity said, quickly taking the dress off of Rainbow Dash and hanging it up in the closet. She returned to the room to see Rainbow Dash staring at herself in the mirror. “Don’t start to get arrogant about your looks now,” she teased. “Huh? Oh, sorry,” Rainbow Dash said. Rarity laughed, and the sound warmed Rainbow Dash. “It’s quite all right, darling. Well, I guess I don’t need to keep you any longer. Those were all the dresses I had for you to model.” “Right,” Rainbow Dash said, and then realization struck her. “Oh, Rarity, wait. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” “What is it, darling?” Rarity asked, looking concerned. “You’re going to hate me for saying it,” Rainbow Dash said. “Or maybe you’ll like it, I don’t know. I’ve been debating this for a while and I couldn’t find the right time to tell you, and now seems as good a time as any. But I don’t want you to overreact or get upset, because I think you might, and—” “Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said curtly, “it’s best to just say what’s on your mind.” “I…well, I think I was wrong when I said I didn’t like you…” Rarity stared blankly at Rainbow Dash with her jaw open. Rainbow Dash waited for the message to sink in, her butterflies buzzing away in her stomach. “Is this your idea of a joke?” Rarity asked. “What? No, not at all! I mean, I was confused about it, too, but the more I thought of it, the more it made sense—” “Wasn’t it bad enough to reject me the way you did?” Rarity cried, tears starting to form in her eyes. “Now you have to take my heart for a joyride? Why would you say something like that?” “Because I meant it!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “And I still mean it. I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out. I mean, it was only a few days, but still. It happened because when I broke your heart, I started feeling this enormous guilt and worry about you, and I couldn’t explain where it was coming from. Then when I realized I might be falling for you, I started to question myself, and when I couldn’t find a way to explain how I felt any other way, I fought with myself over whether I should tell you. But now that I’ve told you, and we already know you feel the same about me, we don’t have to hide from our feelings anymore. Remember when I asked if you still held a little hope? I was hoping that you were hoping that I would change my mind about you, and I have. Believe me, I have. So, what do you say, Rarity? Will you be my very special somepony?” “Resorting to such a childish turn of phrase, are we?” Rarity asked, tears still sliding down her cheeks. She let out a small chuckle, and then averted her eyes. They started to shimmer, and the glistening made her eyes like a pool of emotion. “You really mean what you’re saying?” she asked, daring to hope again. Rainbow Dash didn’t answer with words. She flew to Rarity and planted a firm kiss on her lips. Rarity squeaked and she felt her heart skip a beat, but when she realized Rainbow Dash was being serious after all, she melted into the kiss and returned it with passion. The two stayed that way for an eternity, but when they broke apart the time had felt too short. “So what do you say?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Well, after that display of affection, of course I’m going to say yes,” Rarity said, grinning from ear to ear. Rainbow Dash stole another kiss from the alabaster mare. “Are you all done with work for today?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I suppose I’ve made enough progress on my designs,” Rarity said. “Why do you ask?” “I was thinking we could, you know, cuddle on the bed, for old time’s sake.” “That sounds lovely,” Rarity said, and she led Rainbow Dash to her bedroom, her heart dancing in her chest. This still seemed too good to be true, but apparently her dreams had become a reality. Rarity lay on the bed and let Rainbow Dash wrap her hooves around her. The two of them closed their eyes, and Rainbow Dash smelled Rarity’s mane. The scent of lilacs reached her nostrils, and Rainbow Dash sighed with contentment. “You know what, Rarity?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Yes, darling?” Rarity said. “This is way better than sleeping with a Spitfire plush.”