//------------------------------// // The Mare of Her Dreams // Story: Unexpected Confessions // by Dianwei32 //------------------------------// Unexpected Confessions Chapter Twenty Four         The Mare of Her Dreams         As Dash slogged her way back to consciousness, the first thing she became aware of was a throbbing pain in the back of her skull. She groaned and buried her face in the cloud below her, only to feel a sharp prod at her ribs.         “Get up.”         It was odd for Dash to hear her own voice say things she hadn’t thought. Lifting her head and gritting her teeth, she looked up, only to see her reflection glaring back down at her. Glancing around, she saw that they were no longer in her house, instead sitting on a cloud above the edge of Ponyville. The hoof jabbed at her side again, and she swatted it away with a foreleg. “Knock it off, Rainbow Dream.”         “What the buck are you doing here?” Dream leaned down, her face inches from Dash’s. “How did you even get here?” She backed up a bit, a snarl creasing her face. “Did you even think about what it would do to Rarity to see you here?”         “Why should I tell you?” Dash pushed up to her hooves, rolling her neck and eliciting a series of pops and cracks. “I’ve heard about what you do to ponies who upset you. Are you gonna beat me up like you did Rares?”         Dream looked off to the side for a moment, before snarling. “Yeah, I hit her. Do you know why?” She stalked a little closer and glared at Dash again. “Because I'm you! This," she gestured at herself, "is how she sees you. From the moment I opened my eyes, I knew I loved ‘Shy, and the first time I saw her was in a coffin." The snarl fell off her face like she'd been dropped in a pool of ice water. “I hated her, just like she imagined you would, but I forgave her. But you… you hurt her more than I ever could, so what’s your excuse?" She glared at Dash expectantly, snorting when the other mare had no answer. "I thought so. I'm not going to let that happen again. So tell me—” She jabbed a hoof into Dash’s chest. “—why are you here?”         “I’m here to wake Rares up.” Dash knocked away the hoof at her chest and walked to the edge of the cloud. “Where is she, anyway? Rar—”         Dream tackled her into the cloud, turning the rest of her shout into a pained grunt. “Shut up!” She hissed, placing a foreleg over Dash’s mouth when she opened it again. “She doesn’t want to go back anymore! She can’t keep being brave for you!” Dream stood up, giving Dash a little shove as she did so. “Now, get out of here. Go home and be with ‘Shy. That’s your job now. ‘Love her enough for the both of us,’ remember?”         Dash glared at her dream counterpart, then stood up as well. “I’m not going anywhere until I talk to Rarity.” She made a break for the edge of the cloud, flaring her wings, but tripped over Dream’s leg at the last instant. Skidding to the edge, she spit out the mouthful of cloud she had gathered. “I told you, I’m not leaving without talking to Rares. Now stay outta my way.” Slowly clambering to her hooves, Dash got ready to take off and ran for the edge, only to have a solid wall of black thunderhead cloud materialize in front of her She slammed into it and bounced off, tripping over her own hooves and falling back down.         “And I told you—” Dream planted a hoof on Dash’s back as the wall of cloud dissipated. “—that this is what Rarity wants. She knows—”         “Who in the hay do you think you are?” Dash tried to push herself up, but Dream held her down with seemingly impossible strength. “You keep talking about what Rarity wants. Well, if this is really what she wants, then she can tell me.”         “Who am I?” Dream chuckled, her hold on Dash easing up for a moment before bearing down again. “I’m a figment of her imagination, a dream. I’m as much of you as she could dream up when she felt herself falling.” She leaned down, whispering into Dash’s ear. “She felt like she was going to die, wanted to even, and needed somepony to catch her. Now, here you stand—” Dream straightened back up. “—err… lie.” A wry smirk spread across her features. “Why am I not surprised she managed to improve upon the original?”         Dash pressed against the cloud harder, straining to rise. “Sh-shut… up.” No matter how hard she tried, she remained firmly pinned in place.         “You just don’t get it, do you?” Dream sighed, shaking her head. “Well, we never were the sharpest tool in the shed.” She leaned back down, anger creeping into her voice. “I kept trying to remind her why she couldn’t do this—” She waved a hoof. “—It was watching you and ‘Shy be so happy together, and knowing that she could never have that, not with either of you… That pushed her over the edge. She stopped caring about waking up anymore! And why couldn’t she have it?” Dream’s voice dropped to a venomous whisper, the anger transforming into disgust. “Because your parents were bucking idiots. That’s why she didn’t even get a chance!” She pressed her hoof harder into Dash’s back.” Now, how do you get out of here?” “I don’t—” Dash paused to spit out a mouthful of cloud. “I don’t know.” “Horsefeathers!” Dream smacked Dash upside the head. “Luna had to have told you how to get out.” “How did you— oof!” Dash felt the pressure on her back increase again, and she sank into the could a bit more. “No, she didn’t tell me.” Dream eased up a bit, letting out an amused chuckle. “So, you just barged in here with no clue how to get out?” She shook her head. “Typical.”         “She’s important to us! To me! That’s why I’m here!” Dash shot back. “I… I wanna give it a shot. The three of us. Together.” She let out a sigh, her entire body slumping. “I know I bucked up royally… shooting her down off-hoof like that, and I know that I don’t deserve her forgiveness…” She looked back up, a determined fire burning in her eyes. “But I’m not leaving here without her, no matter what.”         “Give it a shot?” Dream could only stare at her counterpart in disbelief for several seconds, her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Give it a shot?” Dream’s face quickly contorted in rage. “She loves you, you idiot! Not that you deserve it.” She stalked over to Dash, stopping just shy of running into her. “Give me one good reason why I should even let you try. I’m tired of seeing the way she gets after talking to you.” She jabbed Dash in the chest. “Why should I trust you to take care of her?”         “Because I… I…” The word ‘love’ stuck in Dash’s throat, and after a few more moments of trying to force it out, she gave up. “Alright, I don’t love her, not yet. But I want to.” She leveled a hard stare at Dream. “I’ll make this work.”         “Yeah, sure you will.” Dream smirked, but her eyes glared daggers at Dash. “You’ll make it work… for a little while. Then we’ll be right back here, with Rarity even more heartbroken than she already is.”         “No!” Dash stomped a hoof, sending up a small cloud of mist. “I’d never do that to her!”         “You already have!” Dream shouted. “She asked you to do one thing! You stupid—” Her hoof flashed out, hitting square in Dash’s chest. “—selfish—” Her other hoof flew out, hitting Dash in the gut and making her wince. “—waste of space! You couldn’t even do that right!” She lunged forward, slamming her forehead into Dash’s nose with a wet crunch.         “Ah!” Dash ducked under a swing aimed at her head and pressed a hoof to her nose, feeling blood start to trickle out. “What’s the buck was that for?” She deflected a kick aimed for her chest and swung a hoof in retaliation, hitting Dream’s temple. “Knock it—” She rolled forward and to the side, winding up facing away from Dream. Gathering herself, she lashed out with both hind legs, hearing the satisfying sound of hoof impacting flesh, along with the crack of a rib or two breaking. As soon as her hooves hit the cloud again, she leapt for the edge, spreading her wings and searching for some sign of Rarity.         “Come on, Rares… where—” Dash banked into a turn and saw her cloud house a ways off. She pumped her wings harder, grimacing as a lance of pain shot through her right wing joint. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she flew toward the house as hard as she could.         “Get back here!”         Dash looked back over her shoulder to see Dream racing after her, gaining on her quickly. Dash tried to put on some more speed, but before she could, Dream slammed into her from behind, wrapping her foreleg’s around Dash’s barrel.         “Ah!” Dash yelped as Dream’s extra weight pulled on her wing, wrenching it out of its socket again. They tumbled through the air, a tangled mass of hooves and wings, until they crashed into a low-hanging cloud. Another lance of pain raced through Dash’s wing as the landing twisted it at an awkward angle. “Ow! Ow ow ow! Careful! Watch the— oof!” The wind was knocked from her for an instant when Dream rolled on top of her, pinning her to the cloud. Using her clone’s momentum against her, Dash pushed up hard, launching Dream through the air. Dash saw her copy flailing and darted forward, crashing into her with a shoulder and sending her over the edge of the cloud.         Dash watched Dream fall past the cloud then turned back to her re-injured wing. She gave it an experimental flap, hissing at the pain that shot through it. “Looks like I’m not doing any more flying.” Her ear flicked back, and she heard the telltale flap of wings getting closer. “And if I can’t go around her…” She turned just in time to see Dream land on the other side of the cloud. They watched each other for a moment before Dash dug her hooves in, preparing to charge. “I’ll just have to go through her.” She rushed forward, waiting for her copy to move out of the way. When Dream started to move, Dash planted her forehooves and spun, swinging her hind legs around. Unfortunately, they met only air.         “Why can’t you just let her be happy?” Dream punctuated the question with a strike to Dash’s ribs. “She’s happy here. With me.” Two more hits, the second hitting Dash in the kidney and drawing a pained cry from her. Dash recovered from her missed kick and flared her good wing, obscuring her clone’s vision. Keeping her wing in place, she shot her legs out again, this time entwining them with Dream’s. Throwing her weight to the side, she brought both of them down in a tumble, which Dash unfortunately landed on the bottom of. Dream grabbed a hoofful of Dash’s mane and yanked back, forcing her head up. “Can’t you see that? Just give up.” Dash tried to break free from Dream’s grasp, flailing her legs to find some scant amount of purchase, but to no avail. She turned just enough to glare at Dream.         “Never.”         Dream shook her head, then chuckled. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised… we always were stubborn. But tell me, why—”         “She can’t stay like this forever!” Dash cut across Dream’s words, pulling her mane free from the other mare’s grasp. Looking back, she saw confusion written on Dream’s face, so she pressed on. “Rarity’s been asleep for, what? Two days? Soon they’re gonna have to put her on life support for food, going to the bathroom, and giving her sponge baths.” She smirked as that last one caused Dream to swallow nervously. “Yeah, not exactly up to her normal standards of a beauty regimen.”         “She’ll… I can… Augh!” Dream pounded a hoof onto the cloud, her face twisted in frustration.         “You said it yourself, Dream, she can’t stay here. Not forever.” Dash tried to push up again, rising a few inches but still stuck under her clone. “I’m asking you, as somepony at least as awesome as you… Let me try. Give me a chance to learn to love her.” She saw conflicting emotions running across Dream’s face. “I’ll… I’ll Pinkie Promise if it will help.”         Dream chewed on her lip for a moment, obviously deep in thought. “Alright, fine, you can—” She trailed off and looked up as a shadow passed over the cloud. “Horsefeathers.” *         “Rainbow, love? Are you ever coming out of there?” Rarity tapped a hoof on the bathroom door, where her wife had disappeared to nearly fifteen minutes ago. She pressed an ear to the door, listening for any sign of activity from within, but only silence answered her question. “Come now, love, dinner is getting cold.” She tapped a hoof impatiently and let out an irritated sigh. “I’m coming in, love.” With that, Rarity leaned forward, poking her head through the door and looking around, only to find the bathroom empty.         “Darling?” Rarity moved forward through the door, shaking the mist from her mane and wings. “Rainbow, where did—” She finally noticed that the window had been opened, leaving the drapes to flutter in the breeze. Rearing up to place her legs on the sill, she stuck her head out of the window, looking around for any sign of her wife.         “Oh, where has she gotten to this time?” Rarity turned and trotted out of the bathroom, heading for the front door. She couldn’t hide the smile that tugged at her lips. Rainbow’s surprises were unpredictable and often times troublesome… but they were always worth it. Flinging the door open with a touch of magic, she stepped out onto the porch and stretched her wings. She dove off of the edge and flared her wings, banking to the left and catching a thermal that lifted her high above the clouds. Angling her wings, she left the thermal and eased into a wide circle, searching for any sign of her wife.         After about half a minute of searching, she saw a telltale splash of chromatic color on one of the clouds below. Rarity pursed her lips in disappointment. A bit… tame for her. Her smile flickered back to life, and she bit her lip. Unless she’s got something hidden. Folding her wings in, she closed her eyes and fell, delighting in the dangerous thrill that it sent rushing through her veins. Cracking an eye open against the wind rushing by, she flared her wings again to slow her approach.         “Dear, I certainly ho—” Rarity landed on the cloud a little harder than she had intended, sending up a large spray of mist that obscured her wife. A quick flap of her wings dispersed it and she tried again. “I certainly hope that whatever you lured me out—” The rest of her words died in her throat when she finally noticed that Rainbow Dash was sitting on top of… Rainbow Dash. Her mouth hung open in shock while her brain futilely tried to process what she was seeing. The Dash on top looked at Rarity, down at the other Dash, then back up to Rarity.         “It’s, um… It’s not what it looks like.” The Rainbow on top said quickly.         The Dash on bottom grinned cockily. “Oh, the hay it isn’t!”         Rarity looked at the scene in more detail and noticed that her two wives had gotten a bit rough with one another. Closing her eyes briefly, she willed away the damage with a thought, leaving them good as new. It was something she had gotten used to doing; at times, Rainbow got a little rough and drew blood. Rarity didn’t like the way the red set against her wife’s cyan coat.         “Now, I thought we had talked about this, love.” Rarity took a step closer to the pair of Dashes, her eyes half-lidded. “If this is what you wanted, all you had to do was ask.” Her mouth turned up into a wry grin. “Though, I thought we had agreed that if we were to do this, Applejack would be our third. Regardless, don’t let me stop you.”         The lower Dash’s eyes bulged out, and suppressed laughter quickly bubbled to the surface, resulting in a gigglesnort. “Pffthahaha! I gotta give you that one, Rares.” She looked up at the one on top. “You gonna let me up now? Or did you wanna make out in front of her first?” The Rainbow on top climbed off, a blush staining her cheeks, and the other one got back to her feet.         Dash nodded in thanks to her twin, then turned back to Rarity. “Alright, Rares, I came to talk to you. It’s me, Dash.”         Rarity nodded, smiling. “I can see that, love.”         Dash’s mouth scrunched up in annoyance. “No, not that Dash—” She jerked her head in the other Dash’s direction. “—It’s me. The real, genuine, accept-no-substitutes Rainbow Dash.” She gave a flap of her wings, wincing. “Ow!” She glanced back at her right wing, flexing it and grimacing.         “Sorry, love. One moment.” Rarity closed her eyes for a second, then reopened them. “There we are. All better.” She watched as Dash flapped her wings again, still grimacing. “I’m sorry, darling… that usually works.”         “Eh, don’t sweat it.” Dash shrugged. “It happened before I got here.”         Rarity looked back and forth between the two Rainbows, one of whom was still staring at the ground. “What do you mean before you ‘got here?’         “You know, before I got… here.” Dash waved a hoof around. When Rarity still didn’t seem to understand, she tried again. “Before Princess Luna sent me here… into your dream.”         The pieces finally clicked in Rarity’s head and she blanched, as much as an already white unicorn can blanch. “You… Sh-she… You’re…” She brought a hoof to her mouth. “Oh goddesses, Rainbow, y-you weren’t… I… I’m sorry, but—” Anything else she was going to say was cut off when Dash rushed forward and pulled her into a hug.         “No. I’m sorry.” Dash squeezed Rarity a little tighter. “I should have seen how—” Her words froze for a moment. “Rares? Are those… wings?” She reached back with a hoof and poked one of the feathery appendages.         “I… You…” Rarity sputtered for a moment, then broke out into laughter. By the time she finally calmed down, she had to wipe tears from her eyes before she could speak. “Oh Rainbow, darling, only you could come to a place like this and see her—” She motioned toward Dream. “—only to get stuck on the fact that I have wings.” She sighed, and it trailed off into a final bout of chuckles. “I suppose it’s one of the reasons I lo—” She froze mid-word.         “It’s okay, Rares.” Dash tightened the embrace she held Rarity in. “I… know. You don’t have to hide it anymore.” She wrapped her wings around the other mare, despite the pain that lanced through the dislocated one. “Fluttershy told me everything. About how she never chose either of us, and how you pretended that she did to protect her.”         “Sh-she…” Rarity leaned harder against Dash, her legs threatening to give out. “I’m… I’m so…” Her emotions finally overwhelmed her, and she broke down into tears. Rainbow patted her back and murmured reassurances to her until the worst of her hysterics had passed and her stream of tears was reduced to a trickle. Eventually, after several minutes of crying, and more than a few dirty glares from Dream, Rarity was able to utter a single word between her choked sobs. “Why?”         “Because we love you.” Dash replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “All of us.” Next to them, Dream harrumphed loudly, earning her an annoyed look from Dash. “Okay, fine. I may not love you like… that yet.” She finally pulled back from the embrace, lifting Rarity’s chin to look into her bloodshot eyes. “But… I want to. I can’t just flip it on like a switch, but… I want to be there for you. I don’t want you to have to do something like this ever again. Besides…” The edge of her mouth twitched up, spreading into one of her familiar cocky grins. “Being the mare of somepony’s dreams is… crazy, but it makes me want to live up to that. To her.” She motioned toward Dream.         Rarity glanced over toward her wife and rubbed a hoof across her nose, sniffling one last time. After a second, she chuckled weakly. “You’re going to be insufferable about this, aren’t you?”         “Only for a month or two… or three…” Dash looked over at Dream again. “Four at the max.”         Rarity laughed, not a weak chuckle or a strained giggle, but a real laugh. “Oh, I wouldn’t expect any less from you, darling.” She stepped forward and pulled Dash into another hug. “Thank you for coming here, Rainbow. For coming after me.”         “Hey, I never leave my friends hangin’.” Dash returned the hug, nuzzling lightly into the other mare’s neck. Giving a final squeeze, Rarity retreated from the embrace. “Although… you never did answer my question, but I suppose that’s equally my fault for not being… terribly specific. What made you change your mind?” “That’s… a long story.” Dash chuckled as Rarity rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you, but I think we should head out first. I don’t know how time works in here, and I don’t think we should worry everyone by staying too long.” She looked around for a bit and eventually saw the cloud house Rarity had dreamed up as her home. “Oh, by the way, that place doesn’t look anything like my house on the inside. Don’t worry though, I’ll give you a nice tour when we get back, especially the ceiling of my bedroom.” She gave an exaggerated wink. Rarity stood frozen in shock for a moment before bursting out in indignation, blushing furiously. “Rainbow Dash! I will not be propositioned like some common—” She turned to Dream, who was snickering into a hoof. “You! Stop that!” “Come on, Rares, it was pretty funny.” Dream giggled at Rarity’s further exasperation. “Um, just wondering… Dash, do you know how you’re supposed to get out of here? Because Rarity doesn’t.” The mare in question shrugged. “No idea. Luna just said that going in was tough… she didn’t say anything about getting out.” Dash rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “I guess… maybe I’ll get out when Rares wakes up?” “I suppose that’s worth a try, and… I suppose it’s time.” Rarity let out a sigh, walking over to Dream. “Thank you, love… for everything.” She reached up and hugged her wife. “I don’t suppose I’ll be seeing you anymore.” “Yeah…” Dream looked over at Dash. “You’ve got the real deal now.” Rarity pulled back, a smile on her face. “So I do.” She turned and walked over to Dash, standing next to her. “Are you ready, dear?” At Dash’s nod, Rarity turned back to Dream, waving goodbye. “Farewell, love.” Dream held up a hoof in farewell, but then rushed forward and clasped Dash in her forehooves. Dash barely had time to squeak out. “Wha—” The rest was lost as Dream locked lips with her, wiggling her tongue against Dash’s lips and trying to get inside. Dash’s eyes went wide in shock for a brief instant, but then closed as she melted into the kiss, parting her lips so that her tongue could dance and battle with Dream’s. After it finally broke, she stared at Dream, panting slightly. “Wha… What was that for?” “It was partly for you.” Dream explained, a subdued grin on her face that she was trying to make look cocky. “We both know you’ve always wondered what it would be like to make out with yourself.” She leaned in closer, so that she was whispering into Dash’s ear. “Take good care of her, okay?” Her eyes flicked over to Rarity, whose wings quivered at attention. Dream moved in even closer, so that her lips nearly brushed Dash’s ear as she spoke. “That’s how she likes to be kissed. Think you can remember that?” Dash shivered as the breathy voice played across her ear. “Y-yeah… I think I can do that.” She unconsciously leaned forward a bit, trying to close the final scant distance between her ear and Dream’s lips. “Good!” Dream nodded and started to turn, but settled for just taking a couple steps back instead. “Well, you two better get going then.” She looked back, a sad smile on her face. “Goodbye… and don’t forget about me, okay?” Rarity simply nodded, unable to say anything. Taking one last deep breath, she draped a wing over Dash and closed her eyes. * Back in the hospital room, Pinkie, Twilight, and Fluttershy sat near the wall, while Applejack paced back and forth in front of the bed. Pinkie and Twilight made idle conversation and tried to include Fluttershy, but the nervous pegasus would only say a word or two before lapsing back into silence, watching for any sign of movement from the bed. Their latest attempt at conversation was interrupted by a choked sob. Everyone turned to Fluttershy, who wiped a hoof across her eyes. “Oh, I-I’m sorry…” Fluttershy lowered her head to hide behind her mane, sniffling. “I-It’s just… it’s been almost a day.” She glanced to the window, where the setting sun cast the scattered clouds in hues of red and orange. “Rarity hasn’t even moved. What… what if Dash couldn’t do it? What if she couldn’t convince Rarity to wake up? Wh-what if—” Her voice faltered, and she broke down into fresh tears. “Hey now, sugarcube.” Applejack trotted over and sat down next to Fluttershy, letting the distraught mare lean on her shoulder. “This is Dash we’re talkin’ ‘bout, remember? She doesn’t lose, and she sure as shootin’ doesn’t give up.” She wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy’s withers. “Ah’m sure that she’ll drag Rare outta there by her frou-frou little tail if’n she has to. We just gotta be patient.” “I…” Fluttershy sniffed again and leaned harder into Applejack’s side. “I know. It’s just hard. I’m so worried about them.” “We all are, Fluttershy.” Twilight moved up to Fluttershy’s other side, draping her good foreleg across her back. “But Applejack is right. If anypony can get Rarity out, it’s Rainbow.” “Yeppers!” Pinkie popped up behind them, wrapping her forelegs around all three of them in a group hug. “And when she does we can have a super duper fun party to celebrate the three of you being happy and snuggly and kissy!” At that, Fluttershy squeaked and shrunk in on herself, nearly disappearing among the three ponies hugging her. “What’s wrong now, sugarcube?” Applejack pulled her up a bit. “Ah thought that’s what ya wanted, ain’t it? You, Rarity and Dash all bein’ together?” “Yes, um, i-if that’s wh-what they want…” Fluttershy looked back to the bed, where Rarity still lay motionless. “B-but what if they decide that it’s not what they want? I… I lied to them. I was horrible and selfish and…” A new wave of tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she squeezed them shut. “What if they decide they don’t want to be with a horrible, lying, selfish pony? Wh-what if…” She drifted into silence, her lip quivering. After several moments, she finally spoke again. “What if they’re happier by themselves?” Her resolve finally crumbled and she broke down into frantic sobs. When they finally abated, Applejack was the first to speak, trying to console her. “Now listen here, sug’. What ya did… Ah ain’t gonna lie, it was pretty bad, but you love ‘em don’tcha?” She waited for a feeble nod. “And ya trust ‘em too, right?” Another nod, slightly stronger than the last one. “Then, have some faith in ‘em. They both said they love ya, and Ah doubt they’d be willin’ to throw that away over one little thing.” “B-but wh-what if—” Fluttershy chewed on her lower lip for a few seconds, then nodded. “You’re right, thank you, Applejack.” “No need, sugarcube.” Applejack gave Fluttershy one more squeeze. “It’s what friends’re—” The rest went unsaid as a brilliant flash lit the room and everyone turned to the bed, letting out a collective sigh of disappointment when they saw Rarity still sound asleep. “I am sorry to disappoint you, my little ponies.” Everyone turned back to the doorway, where Princess Luna stood. A flurry of hasty apologies filled the air, ending only when Luna held up a hoof. “One at a time, please.” “We’re very sorry, Princess.” Fluttershy stared at her hooves, occasionally glancing up at Luna. “We just, um, thought that maybe Rainbow was coming back and Rarity was waking up.” She scuffed a hoof on the floor. “But it’s, um, very nice to see you too.” “Thank you, dear Fluttershy.” Luna smiled warmly and moved around to the side of the bed. “And I do believe I have asked that you refer to me simply as ‘Luna.’” “Oh, um, right. I’m sorry, Pri— Luna.” Fluttershy extricated herself from the embrace of her friends and walked over to stand across from the princess. “Um, L-Luna?” She flinched under the alicorn’s inquisitive gaze, briefly considering crawling back into the space left between Twilight and Applejack to bolster her courage. “If all Rainbow had to do was talk to Rarity and convince her to wake up, wh-why has it taken so long? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” She swallowed nervously while Luna seemed to ponder her question. “It is… difficult to say.” Luna watched Rarity for a moment, then turned back to Fluttershy. “Time dilation in dreams has long been a… vexing subject.” She smiled as Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Applejack cocked their heads in confusion, but Twilight nodded. “The hours of dreaming can seem like mere minutes one night, but a lifetime the next. However, that is why I have come. Rarity’s dream is crumbling, and she should wake soon.” “But what about Dash?” Applejack moved toward the bed, followed shortly by Pinkie and Twilight, the latter of whom slid a bit every other step on her roller skate-tipped leg. “Ah mean, what happens to her when Rare’s dream goes away?” “As Rarity’s dream crumbles, Rainbow Dash will be ejected from the Dream Realm.” Luna began looking around the room. “Though, exactly where she will appear can be… difficult to determine.” Everyone else began looking around as well. “She ain’t gonna end up stuck in the walls or nothin’, is she?” Applejack leaned down and peeked under the bed. “It is… unlikely, however—” Another brilliant flash lit the room, and they all turned to see Dash floating several feet above Rarity’s bed. Her eyes opened and her hooves worked against the empty air for a second before she looked down. “Crap.” Just as Rainbow started to fall, Rarity’s eyes snapped open and she caught Dash in an aura of magic, slowly lowering her until she could reach up and pull Dash down into a tender embrace. Moving slowly, Rarity inched forward until she captured Dash’s lips in a kiss, feeling her heart flutter as Rainbow returned it. After a few moments, they broke apart, trading a few light nuzzles before Rarity finally spoke up. “Darling.” She whispered, darting in for a quick peck on the cheek. “I don’t mean to be crude, but I believe that one of us could do with a shower.” She pulled back a bit and planted a light kiss on Dash’s nose. “And I do believe it’s me…” They shared a chuckle before a quiet but high-pitched squeal caught their attention. They turned to see their friends standing beside the bed. Fluttershy was trembling nervously, glancing back and forth between them, while Pinkie grinned so wide it threatened to split her face in half, and Applejack and Twilight looked on jealously, the latter occasionally glancing at the former. Pinkie gave a subtle nudge to Applejack, who seemed not to notice. “Uh… hi.” Dash cleared her throat and belatedly noticed that her wings were fully extended. A blush of color flooded her cheeks as she wrestled them back to her sides, wincing as the dislocated one folded awkwardly. Once she had them under control again, she slid off the side of the bed. “H-hey guys, what’s up?” “I see you were successful in your mission, Rainbow Dash.” Luna stood from her cushion and banished it with a thought, keeping a stern expression as Dash and Rarity turned to face her. “And as for you, Rarity…” She flared her wings and looked down her muzzle at the prostrate unicorn, who wilted under her gaze. “What you did was not only foolish and dangerous, but it could easily have been lethal. Had Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy not arrived when they did, you could very well have died.” Rarity opened her mouth to respond, but Luna silenced her with a look. “Your attempt to live your life in the Dream World, however appealing it may have seemed, was misguided. I know more than most how tempting the solace of a dream can be, especially to ease loneliness… but I know equally as well just how easily that sweetness can sour and twist into something far darker. Something that can very easily consume you.” Luna paused, letting the implications of her words sink in. “You were very lucky, Rarity.” “I… I know.” Rarity’s voice was barely audible, and her eyes stayed glued to the bed. “And, for what it’s worth… I’m sorry.” She finally managed to look up and turned to Dash and Fluttershy. “Truly, I am.” “It’s okay, Rares.” Rainbow stepped up to the bed, reaching up and holding Rarity’s hoof. She looked over her shoulder at Fluttershy, who was still glancing back and forth between them. Dash motioned for her to join them, and she tentatively made her way over, a cautious smile flickering across her lips as she laid her hoof against Rarity’s and Dash’s. “That brings us to our… final issue.” Luna moved her gaze from Rarity to Rainbow and Fluttershy. “I trust that you two will look after her from this point onward?” “Definitely.” Dash replied, while Fluttershy merely nodded, her cautious smile growing stronger. “Very well. I shall leave her in your capable hooves. Now, if you’ll excuse me—” Luna walked over to the doorway, her horn crackling with energy. “—I am needed back in Night Court. Lord Uptight was in the middle of explaining to me how the Council needs yet another raise before I came here. Although…” She looked at the clock. “It should take at least another fifteen minutes before Uptight realizes that the illusion I left behind isn’t real. He tends to get caught up in his speeches. Regardless, I should return. Farewell.” In another flash of light, the princess was gone, leaving behind only the smell of ozone and the metallic tang of residual magic. “Well, Ah reckon we oughta get a move on, too.” Applejack began ushering Twilight and Pinkie toward the door, though the latter was still grinning ecstatically. “We’ll let the nurse know that you’re up and ready to go home.” “Thank you, dear.” Rarity smiled and waved to her friends as they left. Once they were gone, she turned back to Dash and Fluttershy, her expression growing fearful. “Again, I am truly sorry, darlings. I…” She let out a defeated sigh, her entire body slumping. “I don’t know what came over me… I was just—” She stopped when Rainbow reared up and wrapped her up in a hug, extending her good wing around the unicorn. “Hey, I told you it was okay.” Dash gave Rarity a squeeze before pulling back a bit. “Just don’t do it again, alright?” She winked. Rarity chuckled, shaking her head. “Of course, dear. It seems you’re always there to save me right when I need it.” “Yeah, I’m pretty awesome like that.” Dash puffed out her chest a bit and grinned cockily, earning herself a playful smack from Rarity. After a moment, she turned to Fluttershy. “You okay, ‘Shy? You’ve been quiet… er than usual.” “Eep!” Fluttershy shrank back from the sudden attention, but recovered and stared at the floor. “Oh, um, yes. I’m fine. It’s just…” She chewed her lip for a few seconds debating with herself internally. Eventually, she looked up, fear in her eyes. “A-are you girls mad at me?” Rarity and Dash shared a confused glance before both turning to face her. “Whyever would we be, love?” Fluttershy dropped her gaze back to the floor, tears forming in her eyes. “B-because I-I’m a horrible, s-selfish pony, and I… I lied to b-both of you and hurt you.” She blinked, sending the first wave of tears down her muzzle in wet tracks. “Hey, now.” Rainbow lifted Fluttershy’s chin and kissed away the tears running down her cheeks. Once they were gone, she touched their foreheads together, brushing her nose past her marefriends’. “Like I said, you didn’t do anything wrong. It was our fault just as much as yours.” “Indeed, love, we— Oh, ow!” Rarity sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed, her joints giving off a series of cracks and pops while she rubbed sore muscles. “We were hardly consid—” She winced as her hip made an especially loud pop. “—considerate of your feelings in the matter, being far too focused on our own and, to a degree, each other’s.” She hopped down from the bed, her legs shaking for a moment, and rolled her neck to get the last few kinks out. “Oh, Celestia, what I wouldn’t give for a hot bath and a massage right now.” “I think we can arrange that.” Dash smiled and draped her good wing across Rarity’s back. “It’s good to see you awake Miss Rarity.” They all turned to the doorway to see Doctor Stable stepping through it. He floated Rarity’s chart up from the end of the bed and looked it over. “So, how are you feeling?” “A little sore, and I’m in need of a proper bath…” Rarity reached up and ran a hoof through her mane, cringing inwardly at the tangled mess she felt. “But I’m no worse for wear, I suppose.” “Excellent.” The doctor scribbled a few notes into Rarity’s chart, then flipped back a few pages. “Well, your last three bloodwork panels all came back clean, so you’re ready to go. I can discharge you now or you can spend the night here and go home in the morning.” He looked up from the chart, his quill hovering just above the paper. “I believe I’ve spent enough time here, doctor.” Rarity leaned against Dash. “I’d like to go home.” “Alright, then. Normally, I’d insist on a twenty-four hour observational period, but if somepony is willing to stay with you at all time, I think we can make an exception.” Doctor Stable made one last note in the chart and glanced up at Dash. “I think your marefriend here will be able to take care of that easily enough.” Both Rarity and Rainbow blushed, but the doctor didn’t notice, instead turning and heading out the doorway. “I’ll go fill out the discharge paperwork, and Nurse Redheart will be here in a bit with some instructions for once you get home.” With a quick nod, he trotted down the hallway and out of sight. “Hey, doc!” Dash carefully stepped away from Rarity, pausing to make sure the unicorn wouldn’t fall over, then trotted over to the door, where Stable had reappeared. She held out her dislocated wing. “You mind?” “Again?” The doctor arched an eyebrow, but shook his head when Rainbow smiled sheepishly. He grasped the wing in his magic. “Alright, but next time I’m gonna have to start charging you. On three. One. Two. Three.” The wing popped back into the socket, and Dash uttered a mumbled thanks through her pained expression. After Doctor Stable was gone again, Rarity let out a sigh and slumped against Fluttershy. “I do hope that you weren’t just teasing me with that promise of a bath, darling.” She started walking toward the door with Fluttershy, and Dash moved to her other side, both pegasi draping a wing across her back. Out in the hallway, they ran into Nurse Redheart. “Alright, Miss Rarity. Doctor Stable has a few post-visit instructions for you.” Redheart pulled the chart out from under her leg and flipped through a couple pages. “Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way. No more sleeping pills.” She leveled a stern gaze at Rarity. “If you’re really having trouble sleeping, we’ll see what we can do, but for now, your current prescription has been voided.” “Of course.” Rarity nodded in agreement. “Believe me, I wouldn’t think of taking anymore… and I doubt that they would let me, regardless.” She motioned toward Fluttershy and Dash, who eeped and chuckled weakly, respectively. “Right.” Redheart looked back down at the chart and flipped another page. “Other than that, the doctor has suggested that you start trying to get some exercise in during the mornings. Being asleep for so long will have affected your muscle tone. Doctor Stable suggests that you take a nice walk or jog each morning to get your strength back up. At least half a mile each day.” “Ha. Don’t worry, nurse.” Dash smiled and squeezed the wing draped across Rarity’s back. “I’ll make sure she gets her exercise in.” “Oh joy.” Rarity mumbled, shaking her head for a moment. “Is there anything else?” “Hmm…” Redheart flipped back and forth between a few pages. “Nope. No sleeping pills and daily exercise. That’s it.” She tucked the chart back under a foreleg. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got more patients to tend to. Have a nice day.” With that, she turned and headed back down the hall, dropping Rarity’s chart at the nurses’ station and grabbing a stack of several others. “In that case, girls…” Rarity started to trudge forward, prompting Fluttershy and Dash to follow her. “I believe I hear my bath calling for me, and I would hate to disappoint it by not showing up.” “Sure thing, Rares.” Dash gave Rarity another squeeze. The front doors opened as they approached, and a blast of frigid air rushed in. They turned their heads away from the freezing wind and powered forward, thankful that it relented somewhat once they were outside. “G-goodness Rainbow, dear.” Rarity tried to keep her teeth from chattering while she spoke. “Isn’t it a d-day or two early for this cold front?” She shivered as another gust of wind blew. “Um…” Dash looked up at the sky as she walked. “I… don’t really know. How long was I gone, ‘Shy?” “Oh!” Fluttershy perked up, having drifted off slightly. “A-about a day. Um, maybe a tiny bit less?” “Hmm…” Dash pursed her lips as she did some quick mental calculations. “Nah. It’s right on time.” She looked back up, running a critical eye across the sky. “Gotta hand it to Flitter and Cloudchaser, they did a good job, especially since I wasn’t there.” “Feel free to c-compliment them later, darling.” Rarity tried to walk a little faster, dragging Fluttershy and Dash with her. “Once I’m home and in my bath, you can sing their praises to Celestia herself. But first—” She shivered again, and both of her marefriends pressed closer against her, huddling together. “—we need to get out of this dreadful cold.”         “Well, then hurry up, slow poke.” Dash broke into a trot, pulling the other two mares with her. They rounded a corner that brought Carousel Boutique into view, prompting all of them to speed up a little bit more. Rarity flung the door open as they approached and pulled ahead of Fluttershy and Rainbow, ducking through the doorway ahead of the pair of pegasi. She let out a sigh as the warmth of her home seeped into her. With a flick of her horn, she lit the room, then turned when she heard the soft click of Fluttershy closing the door. “Honestly, Rainbow, must you make it so cold out?”         “Hey, I’m not the one that brought the cold front in. Besides, cold is kinda what winter’s about, Rares.” Dash chuckled to herself as one last shiver passed through Rarity. She walked over and draped her good wing across the unicorn’s back again, smiling as her new marefriend let out a contented sigh and leaned into the embrace. “Don’t worry, though. Flutters and I will be here to help keep you warm.”         “Thank you, dear. I fully intend to take you up on that offer.” Rarity leaned in for a quick kiss, only to get a faceful of mane instead. She pulled back in surprise to see Dash facing away with her ears folded back. “Darling? What’s wrong?”         Dash turned back just far enough to look at Rarity out of the corner of her eye. “Sorry, Rares, I just…” She paused, searching for the right words. “I’m not ready for that. I know, I know—” She pressed on when the unicorn opened her mouth. “—but the one at the hospital was… different. It was in the moment, I was still riding a serious adrenaline high from saving you, and… well…” A light blush colored her cheeks while she stammered for a bit. “It just felt right. But I need some time to sort all of this stuff out. I mean… my moms, you got married to me in your dream… All of this stuff at once, I just… I need some time. Sorry, again.”         “No apology necessary, darling.” Rarity smiled and leaned in for a quick nuzzle along Rainbow’s neck. “As I was going to say, I understand, and I’m willing to wait as long as you need to feel comfortable.”         “Thanks, Rares.” Dash returned the nuzzle and hugged the unicorn closer with her wing. “Now, how about that bath? You comin’, ‘Shy?” She looked over her shoulder to where Fluttershy had been standing, only to find her no longer there. “Fluttershy?”         “Oh, um, up here.” They looked up to see Fluttershy peeking down into the main room from the top of the staircase. She ducked away a bit from their sudden attention. “You girls were busy talking, and, um, I didn’t want to intrude, so I just came up here and got the bath ready. I hope that’s okay.”         “More than okay, dear.” Rarity trudged over to the steps and began the slow process of climbing them, leaning more heavily on Rainbow the higher they got. By the time they reached the top, Rarity was barely supporting herself and was merely being drug along by a foreleg she had thrown over Dash’s withers at some point. “I… I’m sorry, darling.” She tried to make the last step herself, but her free foreleg gave out when she tried to shift her weight onto it. Only Rainbow’s lightning-quick reaction saved her from spilling onto the floor in a heap. “I don’t—”         “Hey, don’t sweat it, Rares.” Dash waved off the unicorn’s explanation, pulling her tighter with the wing still draped across her back. She looked ahead and saw Fluttershy waiting by the door to the bathroom. “We’re almost there.” They made it through the doorway with minimal trouble, and Rainbow pulled Rarity the last few feet to the tub.         “Oh, um, here. Let me help.” Fluttershy ducked under Rarity’s other foreleg and helped Dash lift the unicorn into the tub.         “Oh, sweet Celestia.” Rarity moaned as she slid into the water. When her marefriends let go of her forelegs, she sank as far down into the water as she could until only her head was dry. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back and rest on the edge of the tub. “Thank you, girls. Feel free to go to bed. I’m going to be here for the next week or so.”         “That seems a little long… even for you.” Dash chuckled and leaned against the doorway.         Rarity cracked an eye open to look at Rainbow. “Perhaps.” She let out a contented sigh and closed her eye again. “However, I would like to soak for a bit.” She lifted her forelegs and stretched them above her head, brushing them against her mane. Frowning, she ran a hoof through her mane. “And perhaps a mane washing would be in order.”         “Oh, um, I… I’ll help.” Fluttershy stepped forward, but almost immediately moved back. “Um, i-if you want me to, that is.”         “I would like that very much, darling.” Rarity smiled at the nervous pegasus, then levitated a ball of bath water above her head in a sphere of magic. She opened a number of small holes in the bottom, letting a gentle shower of water fall on her. When it was done, she had managed to soak both herself and Fluttershy to the bone. She glanced back at Fluttershy, who was trying to get her mane unplastered from her face, and tittered behind a hoof. “Oh, I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t realize you were right there.” She apologized, though the gleam in her eye said otherwise.         “Whoa.” They both turned to Dash, who was staring at them wide-eyed, her wings at full extension. After a moment, she shook her head and blinked, then quickly forced her wings back to her sides. “Uh, sorry.” She grinned sheepishly, a hint of a blush in her cheeks. “It’s just that you two with wet manes is…” She swallowed, and her wings twitched. “Seriously hot.”         Fluttershy blushed profusely and began to stammer, but Rarity only smiled. “Thank you, darling, but I—” She was interrupted by a ferocious growl from Rainbow’s stomach. “Oh goodness, I’ve been a positively horrid hostess. I’m afraid I don’t have much, but feel free to help yourself to some sandwiches. They’re in the icebox down in the kitchen.”         Dash bit her lip and glanced down the stairs, but ultimately shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll just—”         “Please, darling, I insist. Fluttershy will take good care of me, and there’s no reason for you to stand around starving.” When Rainbow opened her mouth to protest again, Rarity splashed her playfully. “Go on, dear. We’ll be fine, I promise.”         Dash seemed to think about it for a bit before another growl sounded from her stomach. “Okay. Thanks, Rares.” She turned and practically galloped down the stairs, her hooves sending ringing echoes through the showroom. A few seconds later, a resounding crash echoed up from the lower floor, followed by a hasty, “Sorry!”         Rarity chuckled to herself and shook her head, sending a few stray droplets of water cascading back down into the tub. “I swear, Celestia herself wouldn’t want to be between Rainbow and a meal. Heavens forbid you get between her and cider.”         “Oh, yes.” Fluttershy giggled to herself while she poured some shampoo onto a hoof and started to work it into Rarity’s mane. “There was one time Dashie stopped by my house after an especially long training session and she hadn’t had lunch. I was in the middle of changing bandages on some of my animal friends, so I told her to help herself to whatever she wanted from my kitchen.”         Rarity smiled and closed her eyes, simply enjoying listening to her marefriend talk. “I take it that didn’t go over well?”         “Oh, um, it went over… fine.” Fluttershy giggled to herself again before continuing. “When I finally came inside, she had made a sandwich using everything from my icebox except for the milk and eggs.” She worked her way down Rarity’s mane, running her hooves through the tangled hairs until they were smooth as silk. “It was so big that she couldn’t figure out how to eat it. She wanted to try and get a little bit of all the ingredients in one bite, but couldn’t get her mouth around the whole thing.” Rarity giggled, bringing a hoof out of the water to cover her mouth and inadvertently splashing Fluttershy again. Looking over the unicorn’s lathered mane, Fluttershy dipped her hooves in the water before placing them back on the floor. “Okay, I think I’m done.”         “Thank you ever so much, darling.” Once again, Rarity lifted a ball of water and gently poured it over her head, washing away the shampoo. After she removed the wet mane covering her eyes, she climbed out of the tub, leaning on Fluttershy for support. “Would you like— oh!” She winced as one of her forelegs threatened to give out for a moment. “Would you like to hop in, dear? I could do your mane for you now.”         “Oh, um, th-that’s okay.” Fluttershy stared at the floor. “Y-you don’t need to do that.” She stepped away from Rarity a bit, pausing to make sure that she wouldn’t fall over, then trotted across the bathroom and grabbed a towel.         “Are you sure, darling?” Rarity grasped the towel in her magic and deftly wrapped her mane up in it. “I’d be more than happy to return the favor.”         “N-no thank you.” Fluttershy sidled up next to Rarity so that the unicorn could lean on her. She looked off to the side, and when she spoke again, it was barely audible. “You’ve already done so much.”         “I’m sorry, what was that, darling?” Rarity leaned closer, taking the opportunity to give her marefriend a light nuzzle. When Fluttershy shook her head and tried to mumble some excuse, Rarity pressed on. “Come now, dear. You can tell me.” She lifted a hoof, but nearly fell, so she reached out with her magic and lifted the other mare’s chin with a gentle cushion of telekinesis.         Fluttershy resisted at first, trying to pull away from the soft tug of the magic. “N-no, really, it’s noth—” Her words died in her throat when she finally met Rarity’s gaze. In her marefriend’s eyes, she saw nothing but love and understanding, and she knew that nothing she said would change that. “W-well, it’s just that… you’ve already done so much, and I don’t know how I’m ever going to make it up to you.”         “You have nothing to ‘make up’ for, love.” Rarity darted in for a kiss on the cheek, but caused her towel to fall over in the process. “True, things didn’t go quite as—” She stopped as a dull fwoosh came from downstairs, followed shortly by the shrill beeping of her kitchen’s smoke detector. “Oh dear.” She and Fluttershy bolted for the doorway, galloping down the stairs and skidding to a halt just outside the now smoke filled kitchen. Rarity extended  her magic through the smoke, feeling for the window above her sink. When she felt it, she threw it open to give the billowing fumes a path to escape.         After several minutes of Fluttershy using her wings to blow the smoke away, she and Rarity found Dash next to the stove, coughing and sitting next to a still smoldering pan of what they assumed used to be food, but was now a charred and blackened mess. The brash pegasus looked up at them and let out one last cough. “Uh, hi.”         “Rainbow, dear.” Rarity lifted the burnt lump of food—it looked a bit like it started out as hay, but it could just as easily have been charcoal—and floated it over to the trash can, dropping it in with a solid thunk. “What happened to the sandwiches I told you about in the icebox?”         “I think—” Dash was interrupted by one last coughing fit. “They went bad, so I was trying to cook up some soy bacon for a BLT.” She looked guiltily at the frying pan and the few scraps of charred food still stuck to it. “I swear, I looked away for a second to grab the lettuce and the next thing I knew, the kitchen was filled with smoke.” Her ears folded back and she grinned sheepishly. “Sorry.”         “It’s quite alright, darling.” Rarity smiled as she trotted over to the icebox. “But, what do you mean they ‘went bad?’ I made them just the other day. They should be fine for at least a week.” She pulled the door open and poked her head inside, shivering as the cold air washed over her damp coat. Looking over the sandwiches within, the lifted the bread and lettuce, but was unable to find anything wrong with them. “Rainbow, what exactly is wrong with them?”         “Just look at the cheese.” Dash popped in and grabbed the package of soy bacon, brushing the cold package past Rarity’s leg and stomach on her way out. “It’s got a bunch of blue moldy looking spots on it.”         Rarity laid the lettuce and bread back down, closing the icebox with a sigh. “It’s bleu cheese, dear. That’s how it’s supposed to look.”         “I know it’s blue.” Dash rolled her eyes, then leaned down to pick up a couple pieces of soy bacon, dropping them into the pan to sizzle away. “That’s why I didn’t eat it.”         “No, not blue cheese, bl—” Rarity stopped and pressed a hoof to her forehead. “Just… trust me, darling, the cheese is fine. It is supposed to have those blue spots. They’re what gives the cheese its unique taste. Here...” She pulled open the icebox door for a moment and floated a bit of the bleu cheese out, carrying it over to Rainbow. “Try a bite. If you like it, I’ve got enough that you can put some on your sandwich.” Dash eyed the offending cheese warily, glancing between it and Rarity. Eventually she shrugged and chomped it out of the air, suppressing a shudder as the tingling feeling of the unicorn’s dissipating magic played across her mouth briefly. She felt the hunk of cheese land on her tongue and she winced slightly, only to realize a second later that it didn’t actually taste bad. “Hmm… you’re right. That is pretty good.” She felt a soft tap on her shoulder, and turned to see her other marefriend holding her completed sandwich on a plate. “Oh, wow. Thanks ‘Shy.” “Oh, it’s no problem.” Fluttershy handed Rainbow the BLT and watched as she tore into it hungrily. “Your bacon was done and was going to burn again, so I took it off. Then you were busy talking to Rarity, so I just, um, made the rest of it.”         “Thanksh.” Dash replied through a mouthful of sandwich. She quickly finished off the rest, stopping just shy of licking her hooves clean. “That was awesome. Thanks again.”         “Um, really, it was nothing.” Fluttershy smiled at the comment, blushing lightly. “So, um, what should we do now?” When Rainbow merely shrugged, she turned back to her other marefriend, only to find her missing. “Rarity?” A clatter of activity from the main room told her and Rainbow where the missing unicorn had gotten off to, and they walked out of the kitchen to see a veritable maelstrom of materials flying around.         “Terribly sorry to have run off on you, darlings.” Rarity didn’t even look up from the dress form she was working on while she spoke. “But I had a burst of inspiration and simply had to get to work.” A spool of thread swung down and threaded itself through a needle before running through a seam. “I just have all of this… energy all of the sudden.” She finally looked up and smiled at her marefriends. “You girls feel free to go to bed, I’ll likely be working for quite some time.”         “That’s cool. We can watch.” Dash trotted over to Rarity’s chaise lounge and flopped down, patting the spot next to her for Fluttershy to climb up. When the pegasi were nestled together comfortably, Rainbow turned back to Rarity, her eyes scanning the various tools and materials whirling around the room. She gave a low whistle. “Do you always have this much stuff flying around when you work?”         “Oh, of course.” Rarity glanced over to the chaise lounge, allowing herself a quick smug grin. “It’s necessary to have everything ready at a moment’s notice. Inspiration can be a very fickle little thing.” She looked over the dress again, pursing her lips for a moment before a pair of scissors swooped down and snipped the thread. All of the materials froze in the air and she looked back to her marefriends. “Are you sure you want to just watch me? It must be terribly boring."         “Oh, no. Not at all.” Fluttershy shook her head, accidentally giving Rainbow a faceful of mane.         “Yeah.” Dash swatted Fluttershy’s mane out of her face. “It’s actually pretty cool, seeing all of this stuff flying around but not getting too close or running into each other.” She cocked her head to the side. “It’s kinda like that time we had Tornado Duty.”         Rarity looked back and forth between them for a few seconds, then turned back to the dress, shrugging slightly. “Very well. Again, if you get tired of watching me work, feel free to head upstairs to bed.” After getting a nod from the pair on the lounge, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, starting up the whirlwind of materials above her head and getting herself back into ‘the zone.’ When she opened her eyes, she looked over the dress in front of her critically, but could find nothing else that needed improvement. Satisfied, she lifted the equinniquin and moved it over by the wall, bringing in a blank one to replace it. Before long, several bolts of fabric flew over it, draping the bare form in a swarm of color.         While she worked, Rarity sporadically glanced over at her marefriends, seeing them chatting casually with one another, trading light nuzzles, and even leaning in for the occasional kiss. The sight warmed her heart and made it increasingly difficult to focus, but she forced herself to keep working. You’ll get your turn, Rarity. You just have to be patient. However, after working out one particularly tough problem with her current design’s skirt, she couldn’t help herself and glanced over her shoulder once more. This time, she found Fluttershy and Rainbow sleeping curled up to one another, Dash having draped one of her wings over her marefriend’s back. Poor dears. Rarity paused the maelstrom of activity again and grabbed a blanket from a nearby rack. The exhaustion of all of this must have finally gotten to them. She draped the blanket over the sleeping pegasi gently, leaning down to give each one a kiss on the forehead.         “Sleep well, my loves.”