When Did This Happen

by Natedogg2006

Losing Steam and Sharing Time

Rainbow Dash really didn't like being in the school after hours. Canterlot High was an open campus, so students could come and go as they pleased until pretty late hours. But once after school activities and clubs got done for the day it did tend to get very quiet. Further more, to save energy they always turned off all but every third light in the hallway.

Adding to this quiet and dark back drop on this day was Rainbow's own footsteps. She normally wouldn't even pay it any attention, but even to her they seemed almost eerily loud and slow. She knew she was progressing at a jogging pace she would normally make fun of people for, and her foot falls sounded heavier as a result. She also knew that she was failing in convincing herself that the reason for this was a hard practice.

Coach Spitfire definitely expected a lot from her athletes, but Rainbow knew that even she wouldn't work them to death the day before a game. Thus she could only grumble to herself as she noticed the lockers passing her at an even slower pace as the last barrier between her and her destination grew closer.

'Ok, so I'll admit things have changed between us. But that much has been obvious since the fall formal. There is absolutely NO way things have changed THAT much.'

But because of the fact that she had slowed so much she was able to notice something, something that once again reminded her of recent events. And something that once again told her that she was trying to fool herself.

Her light jogging pace was allowing both the shirt and skirt she was wearing to flutter pleasantly in the breeze. As they did so she felt the soft fabric glide gently over her skin. And while her skin was in better condition then it once might have been, that was not the only reason why they felt so comfortable.

These were not her usual clothes, they weren't even her usual style. And yet she knew why she had these clothes. She knew why she was wearing them. And at least on some level, she knew what it meant.

***

"Just a few more Rainbow darling, we're almost done."

Both Rainbow Dash and Rarity were working in earnest. That made sense as this whole day had somewhat been planned in earnest. Spitfire was making it clear she intended to win a championship this season and it reflected in the amount of extra training Rainbow was getting prior to the season starting. Rainbow had lost her whole weekend to her already, and she was trying to get as many after school practices in as possible as well. Noticing this and assuming that during the season wasn't going to get any better, Pinkie had decided that a girls night was absolutely necessary.

Rainbow Dash had not been opposed to the idea, she too knew that it might be a while before she got a chance to hang out with all her friends. The only problem was that her one day off seemed to be the busiest day for the rest of her friends.

"Alright cool, I'll get started on the next one then." Rarity was apparently working on a line of highly embellished dresses. They were trying to save time by having Rainbow Dash follow Rarity's design and pin on the various ribbons, flowers, and gems so that Rarity could come behind and work her sewing magic.

Rarity had managed to sell it to Rainbow as a sort of competition. She had to of course stay ahead of Rarity, but the better she pinned them on the faster Rarity could work as well. So she had to be both fast and accurate. Rainbow knew she was being manipulated, but she didn't care. A competition was a competition. And it turned out she was actually enjoying it.

"I must say Rainbow dear, you certainly are a god send. I honestly was only planning on getting a few of these done in the time I had. You and your magic fingers just might give me the whole rest of the week off."

Rainbow by this point had just finished her second set of flowers and was beginning work on the third as she noticed Rarity taking a second to check over their work on the previous dress. "No problem Rares. I mean, of all the girls it sounded like you had the biggest workload to get out of the way to make today work."

While that statement actually didn't seem true to Rainbow, the rest of their friends did seem to believe it was the case. Rainbow had thought for sure her help would be the most needed by Apple Jack, simply because on any given day she was usually working harder then any of them. But when it was decided that they would all get their respective works done quickly so they could spend the rest of the day together, they all had seemed very sure that Rarity needed her help the most.

But of course that didn't really matter at that moment. What mattered was seeing how much faster they could get done then everyone else so they could rub it in their faces. As such Rainbow was relieved to feel a warmth press in behind her once again. They had established a good rhythm by this point. Rainbow would work down so that Rarity could work above her as they went. The close proximity had taken surprisingly little time to get used to, minus one little thing. Scratch that, two rather generously sized things that were making their presence known once again.

"Rares, your boobs are on my head again."

"Well your just going to have to deal with it for a few moments as usual Rainbow." This had become somewhat routine at this point. As such Rainbow knew that Rarity hadn't even given a glance down when she had said it. Not wishing to break the current groove they were working in at this point Rainbow followed in kind and kept her eyes forward, even as Rarity finished her first set and Rainbow felt them press more into her as she moved down to the next one.

Luckily Rainbow didn't have to worry about testing their elastic potential much further as she finished up the row she was working on. She slipped out from beneath her and gave a sigh of relief as she went over to a nearby table to grab the next set of gems she would need.

Not that being in that position was necessarily that bad. Rainbow actually felt it was kind of amusing just how educational the experience seemed to be. Not that she was in any way moved by the experience, but Rainbow reasoned that if pressed she could finally at least come up with some kind of reasoning as to why boys always seemed so drawn to certain aspects of the female anatomy. Maybe it was like a stress ball sort of thing. The real problem with Rarity having to press herself against her so much was the heat. The room was hot. They were working hard which was making her hot. And more then anything, Rarity's body was hot. For some reason her whole body, especially those two rather generously sized things, seemed to be radiating heat.

Rainbow gave a smirk as she got back to work on the next row. "You know Rarity, it's unbecoming of a lady to allow herself to become overly sweaty."

Rarity did not look away from what she was doing, but Rainbow did notice a bit of color come to her cheeks. "Indeed it is Rainbow Dash. But what may I ask are you implying?"

"Oh nothing, nothing. But you know, I still have an extra pack of those baby wipes in my backpack. You know, just in case any random person might need to borrow them."

The color was pronounced enough now that Rainbow could notice it even out of the very corner of her eye as she worked. "They are not baby wipes Rainbow Dash. And a proper lady such as myself would never put herself in a position where she would need such a thing."

Rarity was now finishing the previous row and was once again pressed against Rainbow as she worked above her. If anything Rainbow would have to say she had gotten even warmer by this point. "Whatever you say, space heater." Rarity actually did break her concentration for a brief moment to look down at Rainbow. Though Rainbow didn't look up she could tell she was glaring at her from above, probably from the wholes it felt like her eyes were burning into the top of her head. Rainbow only smirked as she kept working. "What? I thought you liked me giving you pet names."

Rarity could only grumble as she went back to her work. Rainbow had in fact been doing her best to come up with a new nickname for her every time they saw each other ever since their impromptu sleepover the previous week. It seemed to be becoming a source of great embarrassment for Rarity, not only because more then a few of them were completely nonsensical, but because they had not gotten around to telling anyone why this practice had started.

Thinking about it though, that had seemed to be becoming a running theme of their interactions as of late. It seemed like they kept ending up in positions with just the two of them lately, and as a result they'd already ended up with quite a number of inside jokes between them. Rarity herself seemed to be getting a kick out of asking Rainbow if she smelled anything while stroking her purse like a cartoon villain stroking a cat.

Rainbow smiled to herself. Just how close her and Rarity had gotten in less then two weeks seemed crazy to her, and yet she didn't regret it. What she did regret at that moment was that it suddenly felt like she was wearing ear muffs in this heat. Right, she was still trying to stay ahead of Rarity, and Rarity wasn't going to stop just because she was getting distracted. She hastily pinned on her last gem and moved out from under Rarity before she died in what was probably every guys most ideal way.

Rarity was only a couple gems behind her so Rainbow made her way over to the table again quickly. However when she got there she realized something was wrong. The dress plan was there, still outlining what was needed, but the next row of embellishments was not.

"Umm Rares, where's the next set?"

Rarity was already on the last one and managed to look away while her fingers kept moving. "Right there on the tab..." Her fingers stopped as she noticed nothing on the table where Rainbow Dash was indicating. "Oh dear." She looked back to finish the last one in the row before coming over. "Did we really work through my entire supply that quickly?"

Rainbow could only shrug as she watched Rarity begin to count things off on her fingers. A second hand became involved and her smile grew bigger and bigger as she turned to examine the fairly long line of dresses they had finished. Trying to get some ideas of what was going on Rainbow went back to looking it the sketch of the dress they'd been working on. She was interrupted when something very warm plowed into her and wrapped her up tight.

"Oh my goodness Rainbow Dash, this is so amazing. We got so much done." Rainbow was having an almost Pinkie like experience as she was sure she'd hear the sound of one of her ribs breaking at any moment. Rarity did release though, and when Rainbow turned she was treated to a very wide smile. "I could kiss you right now Rainbow. I can finish this order as early as tomorrow. I had planned on working on this through to next week."

"We've only been working on this a couple hours. How was this going to take you a week?"

Rarity blushed slightly at that question. "Well I suppose you do bring out the competitive side of me a little bit." Rainbow noticed Rarity flexing her fingers in what looked like an uncomfortable way.

Rainbow took a step forward and grabbed her hand. Rarity made a cringe, but Rainbow eased her grip quickly enough that she didn't pull away. She then tentatively removed the sewing guards Rarity was wearing. Rainbow had questioned what they were for when they had started, then promptly zoned out at the explanation. But whatever they were meant to do they obviously hadn't done their job well. Her finger and thumb tips were red and looked like they might start swelling some time soon.

"Ah geeze Rares. If you needed to stop you should have said something." Rainbow pulled her hand in closer to look at a few spots. "Did you get stabbed even through those things?"

"It's not a big deal darling." Rainbow gave an incredulous look. Rarity rolled her eyes in return. "I'm a seamstress, I spend more time then I'd care to admit tending to the toll it takes on my fingers. Besides,..." She turned their hands, now exposing Rainbows fingers. They were covered in bandaids as makeshift sewing guards after she'd stabbed herself several times when they'd started. "... I couldn't let you sacrifice more then me for my projects now could I?"

"That's totally different." Rainbow said, now rolling her eyes.

"How so?" Rarity responded mockingly.

"Because I'm an athlete. It's what we do. You know, no pain no gain."

"It's not just athletes who say that you realize darling." Rainbow was only now realizing they were still holding hands, as Rarity began pulling their hands towards her face. Rainbow felt heat rise in her cheeks but managed to not let it show on her face as Rarity delicately pressed her lips on the tops of Rainbows fingers. "There you go. My mother's patented cure all to make everything feel better." Rainbow was oddly aware that Rarity didn't move her face away before speaking, and the sensation of her breath on her knuckles was sending goosebumps up her arm. Rarity finally pulled away and gave a genuine smile. "Now then, I believe we still have some time..." She stopped when she realized her hand was still being held in place.

Rainbow flashed what she hoped was a smug smile at the confused face she'd come to like as Rarity turned back. She then turned her hand back to her and planted a small kiss on the delicate fingers. "There, all better for you too."

They sat that way for a few moments. A few too many as they both seemed to conclude at the same moment. Their hands came apart quickly and they both turned away. "So, uh... You were saying?"

"Yes. I believe we have some time to spare before we were going to meet up with the girls."

"Yeah, like a whole half hour. Did you like, wanna see if we can go help one of them or something?"

Rarity paused in a way Rainbow could tell meant she was thinking. "I don't think so. If we were to we'd probably just catch them as they were leaving anyway."

"Yeah, that's probably true," Rainbow responded casually while turning back and finding Rarity doing the same. "And besides that, they all seemed like they didn't have that much to do."

"Yes, probably a good thing so we could all spend time with you today. Honestly, if anything I'd have figured dear Apple Jack at least wouldn't have been able to make it."

"Yeah, either her or Shy." Rarity gave her a questioning look. "It's the big day at the shelter. The big monthly cleaning when she gets to help all the animals in one day." Rainbow smiled thinking about how excited her oldest friend got at the idea of cleaning just because it involved animals.

"Oh yes, it's so amusing how she gets so excited for it simply because it's for the animals." Rarity gave a smile as well. "I forgot that that was this week." She then placed a finger to her chin in thought. "Wait a moment, don't you usually assist her on this day?"

"Yeah," Rainbow responded, turning away and focusing her attention on one of the dresses they had worked on. "Second Wednesday every month. Took her forever to actually ask for my help. I almost just started going on my own, but it was good for her to work up the courage to actually do it."

"Soooooooo, what your saying is that you would normally be off helping dear Fluttershy, your oldest, dearest friend. But instead you are here, helping me."

Rainbow was only half paying attention, actually finding the details of how Rarity had secured the different elements somehow fascinating. "Yeah, I guess you could look at it that way. She seemed to think you needed my help the most, and it's not like I mind helping you." Rainbow gave a small laugh at how crazy the words she was about to say should sound to her. "Surprisingly, I'd say I actually kinda had fun. I mean..."

She suddenly paused as she turned back to the other girl. This was Rarity, not Pinky Pie, that much she was sure. And yet this seemed like a Pinkie Pie moment. Rarity hadn't moved, Rainbow was... somewhat sure of that. Yet she was now clutching to her chest a rather large pile of clothes. She was also smiling in a way that to Rainbow seemed like it should be painful, her eyes seeming so big they might start exploding with sparkles at any moment. "... Rares.....?"

"Oh Rainbow darling!!!" The sappiness in her voice felt like it was pooling in Rainbows ears. Though she wasn't shouting, the amount of energy contained in her words made it feel like she was. "You really are such a dear friend!!!"

Rainbows eyes went wide. She suddenly got a very bad feeling. A feeling that Rarity now held every piece of clothing she had that she thought would fit her more athletic frame.

"..... Rarity?" Rainbow took a step back.

"Yes Rainbow!" Rarity seemed to float forward.

"Rarity," Rainbow took another step back.

"Yes Rainbow," the pleasant singsong of her voice was almost haunting as Rarity seemed to advance on her much too quickly.

"Rarity no," Rainbow managed to get out as she turned to escape.

She felt surprisingly strong hands grip her shoulders. "No restrictions, Rainbow dear." Rainbow felt a shudder run through her whole body. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle. Sometimes."

***

"So what's the update?" Rainbow groaned. Her every word was a groan right now.

"Sunset has apparently exhausted all her own ideas on getting her bike to start. Apple Jack thinks she might be able to get it working, but that of course means she has to get there to do so. And she was already in the process of picking up Fluttershy and Pinkie."

"Sooooo, eta?." Rainbow groaned again.

"At least a couple hours I'm afraid."

Rainbow groaned. Then she grumbled. Then she groaned some more.

"I use quality makeup Rainbow dear. So no matter how much you keep scrunching up your face it will not crumble away."

Yes makeup. Rainbow Dash was wearing makeup and she was at that point very dedicated to making sure everyone knew how she felt about it. "Seriously, how do you go around wearing this stuff every day. My skin feels... Thick. I'll admit it, I kinda like the way my skin feels now. And you did that, why would you want to undo it?"

Rarity gave a slightly bashful smile. "Truth be told, I don't really wear that much makeup. And if I were to persuade you to wear makeup more regularly, you'd need even less."

Rainbows eyes narrowed to slits in the deepest glare she'd ever given to anyone. "Are you telling me... That you put extra makeup on me just to see what you could get away with?"

"I also brought makeup wipes for when you figured that out." Rarity then shifted into possibly the most innocent smile Rainbow had ever seen. Rainbow found it incredibly odd that that toothy grin that almost seemed out of place on that immaculately maintained face did actually seem to make her feel like taking it a little easier on her. Not that she needed to let her know that.

"You have about three seconds to get this junk off my face before something bad happens to all these fancy clothes of yours. Rainbow reached out over the small table between them. She then gripped a cheap paper cup filled with soda on a tray on that table, and with a flick of her thumb popped the plastic top off it while glaring menacingly at the fashionista.

"Now now Rainbow, don't go getting your stockings in a twist," Rarity said, now standing from her chair and coming around the table while reaching into her purse.

"I shouldn't even be wearing stockings."

"And please don't squint like that, you'll get crows feet." Rainbow kept glaring as she groaned.

Rainbow didn't think she was that far out of line in saying that she shouldn't be wearing stockings. She had relented and given Rarity a once, ONCE, in a lifetime chance to dress her up. And Rarity had clearly gone overboard if the makeup thing was anything to go by. Especially since they were currently seated at the only clean table they could find at the mall food court.

It wasn't just the makeup either. Rainbow was reminded of the uncomfortable situation she had just been put through as she was now being put through one as Rarity sat way too close to her as she carefully wiped her face with a damp cloth.

Frills. Her top had frills. And they were running along a collar she felt was cut way too low for comfort. And Rainbow would never understand why fashion would make it ok for said top to have a right sleeve but not a left. Or for it to hang lower on the left then the right. The skirt was even more perplexing. It was actually longer then ones she'd usually wear. Long enough to give her the same uncomfortable feeling she had in a dress that she might trip over it at any point. And yet she still felt more exposed as it was slit right up to the waist on the right as well.

That part had led to a minor argument. Rainbow had protested as it would have left her underwear showing ever so slightly. That was when Rarity had mentioned she had one last small, VERY small, addition to the outfit. Rainbow nearly called it off right there. She had even considered revealing that she knew very well that Rarity herself didn't even wear that sort of thing and doing it in the most embarrassing way possible just to get the last word in. She honestly didn't know why she didn't, probably just because she really wanted to hold onto that little gem for a rainy day.

The final act had been her hair, and Rainbow had the same feeling she had right now. Rainbow felt like Rarity was taking way too much care in removing her makeup the same way she seemed to take way too much care styling her hair. Rainbow kept her hair short so she really didn't have to do anything with it. Rarity had somehow managed to style it in such a way that it honestly seemed longer, and it seemed to move along with the lines the clothes were creating. At least that's what Rarity had said it was suppose to do.

Though the worst part of the whole thing was not something Rarity had necessarily done. Rainbow remembered the worst thing as Rarity added another cloth to the pile of discarded ones and then began fixing what makeup she had left. The worst part of it was something she had realized when Rarity was explaining the whole outfit to her while presenting it to her in the mirror. Something she swore she would never tell Rarity unless something Earth shattering happened. Rainbow Dash, more then kinda, liked the way she looked.

"There we are, perfect as a picture. Turns out once we got rid of all that sweat and grime that you have such beautiful skin that doesn't need much work."

"You know flattery only works when they care about being flattered."

"Then would it work better if I told you your skin was awesome?" And there was that smile that Rainbow kept on feeling like she should want to punch. She then compounded it by reaching up and tapping Rainbows nose ever so lightly as she seemed to skip back to her seat.

Rainbow could only grumble. "Even without the makeup, I still think this is way too much for hanging out at the mall."

"That's why I decided to get dressed up as well. Can't have you hogging all the attention after all." Rarity's outfit was actually very close to Rainbows. Not having much time to prepare, she had just chosen another look from the same line. They were apparently complementing pieces, Rarity's designed to have lines that went opposite to hers and colors that would bring out each other. "Together we look absolutely fabulous."

"That doesn't really address the whole looking out of place thing."

"One of us looking this fabulous might be out of place, but the two of us. That makes a statement."

"And just what is that statement?"

That seemed to finally deflate Rarity just the tiniest bit. The perpetually happy face she'd had almost non-stop since dressing her up turned into a very fake, very deep pout, complete with a hanging lip. "You really are trying to do your best to spoil my mood aren't you?" Rainbows response was to very slowly push her tongue out from between her lips and let it hang there. Rarity flipped her hair in indignation. "Well too bad. I got to dress up the alpha tomboy herself," she flashed a very confident smile, "my new best friend Rainbow Dash, and I'm going to be excited about it."

Rainbow stayed staring at Rarity with a complete blank face. However she was very aware that if she intended to keep it that way much longer the pressure on her tongue being exerted would have to increase to the point where it would tear through. But she still tried. But Rarity's smile was still so big and dumb and cute.

".....,.....,....., snort." And that one sound escaping was all it took. Rainbow now leaned forward and laughed uncontrollably. "Alpha... Freaking... Tomboy... Really????," She managed to get out between laughs. She managed to raise her head through her fits of laughter enough from time to time to see that big, dumb, cute, smile and each time that big, dumb, cute, smile seemed to get bigger.

Rainbows face finally came to a rest on the table as she snickered herself out. When she looked back up the other girls face had changed significantly. The presumed bedroom eyes of Rarity that Rainbow had seen a surprising amount of recently suddenly caught her off guard. "I knew I'd get you eventually darling."

The only thing Rainbow could think to do was smile dumbly for a minute. Only when Rarity seemed to purposefully distract herself by reaching over to grab some of Rainbows long forgotten fries did she finally come to her senses and hastily shift back to her usual laid back demeanor. It was another few moments before she managed a suitable response.

"You can go ahead and think you got me all you want, still doesn't change the fact that we are way over dressed and are stuck here for two hours."

"I wouldn't say we're stuck. Just because the rest of the girls haven't arrived yet doesn't mean the two of us can't have some fun."

Rainbow allowed a little bit more of a smile to slip. "That's actually a little funny. Of all the girls, I was the least worried about not being able to spend time with you before the season started."

Rarity's face fell. "How cruel Rainbow. Is it really so easy for you to say that you wouldn't miss spending time with me?"

If Rainbow hadn't spent so much time with Rarity the past two weeks she might have actually been concerned that she had hurt her feelings. Luckily, Rainbow was taking full responsibility for twisting Rarity's sense of humor ever so slightly, and knew now that she was tougher then she seemed. "Don't even, Miss Poutsalot. You know what I'm talking about."

That nickname seemed to catch her off guard. She let out a very unladylike snort of laughter before responding. "Yes I suppose I do. I'm afraid you'll tire of me soon if we continue to spend as much time alone as we have." She was now putting on a full show of dramatics, falling just short of a pretend faint, but probably only because she was already sitting.

"So does that mean you wanna tell the rest of the girls about the gym parking lot?"

Rarity straightened up quickly to actually consider the question. "I suppose we should at some point. But that many people using it would probably mean it wouldn't stay a secret very long."

"Yeah, that might be a thing. But you can still feel free to help me out on my donut days again if you want."

Rarity tittered lightly, most likely remembering the look of shock on Rainbows face she had insisted was there when she'd interrupted her pre-jog stretches just a few days prior. "Oh, is the dedicated athlete looking for more cheat days?" Rainbow just rolled her eyes at her. "Just say the word Rainbow darling. Any morning you feel like sleeping in I'd be more then happy to be your personal chauffeur."

Rainbow gave a devious smile. "Only if you wear an actual chauffeur getup, the little hat and everything."

"Oh. Well in that case, no."

"God, you are so selfish."

Both girls sat laughing lightly for a few moments. By this point Rainbow had almost completely forgotten she was dressed up like Rarity's personal doll and that she was trying to be upset about that. Almost, but for some reason she really wasn't that upset so it was hard to actually keep it up.

It was Rainbow that recovered first. "Seriously though. Hanging out is one thing, actually deciding on something to do..." She let the question hang.

"We are at the mall Rainbow dear. There's plenty to do."

"Then you wanna go to the outdoors store with me?"

"Oh that sounds dreadful. What about..."

"No I don't want to go clothes shopping."

Rarity stared for a few seconds. She then let out a very long, "oooooooh."

"Yeah, we need tie breakers."

Rarity took on a look that told Rainbow she was deeply considering something. "Huuuummmm. I guess that is a small problem. I suppose even if we are best friends now," she put odd emphasis on the statement and flashed another of those should be punchable smiles, "we still are very different people." She went back into the thinking face while Rainbow watched, taking the last sip of her now watery soda from the food they'd gotten when they first arrived. "But that doesn't mean we can't find a way to share the time we have together."

"And how are we gonna do that?"

"Perhaps," she said tapping her chin before a cocky smile came to her face, "we could play a little game."

Rainbow felt her eyes light up. "Oh really. What did you have in mind?"

"How about this?" She looked out across the small rotunda just outside the food court. "We choose some random person coming from the front of the mall," she pointed to the hallway leading to that area, "and try to decide on which side the store they are going to is." She then pointed to the other side, down the hall leading to the rest of the stores in the mall.

Rainbow scrunched her face up in thought. It was a game that gave her no advantages unlike any physical contests they might have come up with. Rarity was playing it smart and trying to make sure she had the advantage. It was smart, it was devious, and it was kinda awesome.

"Alright, I'm game. Who first?"

Rarity looked around the area. "How about that young gentleman there?"

Rarity had pointed out a kinda scrawny kid with glasses. "Looks like a nerd." Rainbow glanced down the hall. "Probably heading to the game store, so left."

"Well considering his advanced case of acne, I'd hope he's going to the drugstore on the right for some kind of treatment."

The boy was currently heading in their direction, and continued to do so. He proceeded into the food court and to the Chinese food counter.

"Dang it. Still zip/zip I guess."

"I suppose. Who next?"

Rainbow narrowed her eyes scanning the crowd. She had to try to take the advantage while she could. "How about muscle head over there."

"The large one in the tank top?"

"Yeah. I'm guessing a guy that size needs to go pick up some extra protein powder. Drugstore right baby, let's do this"

"I would hope he'd be going to get a proper shirt, but I know athletes can be kind of clueless on these sorts of things." She flashed Rainbow a smirk which Rainbow met with an extended tongue. "Therefore, I'll say the fitness store far left."

No sooner did she get the words out then the guy stepped onto the escalator. On the second floor they would not be able to tell which way he went.

"Drat. Although I think I had a fair chance of losing that one." Rainbow was only half paying attention to Rarity at that moment. She was busy glaring at the previous target. She was sure she had that one. She turned back to Rarity who was now eyeing her questioningly.

"What?"

"I've actually been wondering something Rainbow darling." Rainbow gave her a nod to continue. "Do you actually have some kind of a thing for Macintosh?"

Rainbow was very taken aback by the question. She just stared at Rarity for a moment. She then noticed their previous target getting off the escalator out of the side of her eye. She actually looked over, then back to Rarity, then back up, then back to Rarity. She then laughed.

"No. Ha. Most definitely not. I just know it gets on AJ's nerves real quick. Protective and junk. Bloom is gonna have a real hard time when she starts dating." Rarity kept the questioning stare but directed her eyes at the escalator. Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I'm not into meatheads. Guys like that... I don't know. They look almost weird, like they got a lot of random bumps all over them. Kinda gross actually."

Rarity seemed much more content with that answer. "Well at least I have a little more insight into what your type might be. Though between Sourin and Mac you've eliminated a fair range of the field." Rarity looked like she was struggling on a math problem.

"Yeah, besides that there's at least three other good reasons in Mac's case. He's kinda boring to talk to, AJ obviously, and I think Shy has a thing for him."

Rarity seemed very pleased by this information. "Really now???!!!"

Rainbow smiled wickedly. "Hey, I gotta punish her loose lips at some point right." Rarity was obviously a million miles away right now thinking of girly things. Rainbow realized she had found her advantage. She quickly scanned the area while Rarity was distracted.

She found her target. "How about that guy. I'm guessing the sports store on the right."

Rarity was snapped back to reality. She noticed the guy Rainbow was talking about. Without much time to think she just responded. "Left then. Umm possibly the..." She had no time to answer as he made a sharp right and went straight into the sports store.

"Yes," Rainbow cheered.

Rarity pouted. "How did you know?"

"That's George. He runs that store. So since I win why don't I introduce you to him." Rainbow was already standing and picking up their trays.

"That's cheating Rainbow."

"Nope, that's winning." She said this while reaching out her free hand to Rarity. "Shall we milady." She did this mostly so she could keep Rarity from running away, but surprisingly Rarity smiled and didn't resist as she took the offered hand.

***

"I just don't see why anyone would want to wear camouflage for any reason. Even if they are out hunting."

"Come on Rares, they had some pink camo in there. I thought you'd like it. Isn't it advent grand or something like that?"

"Avant garde. And no. Being pink does not make something suddenly fashionable."

"So that's a no on camping then?"

"I can think of no reason I'd spend time out in nature of my own free will."

Rainbow shrugged her shoulders as they left the outdoors store. "Oh well, at least I know what I'm getting you for your birthday."

"Do not even think about it. Proper decorum would dictate I'd have to wear it at least once. Showers aren't hot enough to burn off that shame."

Rainbow was readying a retort to that when a flash of light blinded her briefly. She then heard some very punchable laughter.

"Delete it AJ."

"No can do RD, this definitely needs ta' be documented proper like. Ain't no tellin' when were gonna see y'all dolled up like this again."

Rainbow's groan was back. She looked over to where the flash had come from to see the rest of her friends had finally made it. She also noticed briefly that Apple Jack was still messing around on her phone, just as her own and what sounded like everyone else's went off. Rainbow groaned some more as she felt the girl at her side reach for her phone the same time she did.

She also saw phones come out among the others. Pinkie chimed in. "D'waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Rainbow managed to time it that time, she was now sure Pinkie didn't need oxygen. Especially since she didn't seem to take a breath as she continued. "You two look soooooooo cute together."

Rainbow rolled her eyes as she herself checked her own phone. It was probably the distraction from the picture she saw that made her feel like she could remember Fluttershy elbow Pinkie in the ribs for whatever reason. Rainbow was somewhat surprised when she realized that in the picture she had apparently at some point wrapped her arm over Rarity's shoulder. Looking to her side she was very surprised to realize it was still there. She began removing it casually as she looked over the picture more.

Rainbow could admit, at least to herself, that she looked hot dressed like this. But despite the similarities between their outfits, Rarity managed to make the look so much more feminine. The contrast was so dramatic that if she didn't know herself who was in that picture, she might have believed it was some trendy couple. She of course would never say that out loud, this was already giving Apple Jack way too much ammo.

"And deleted." She said this while saving it to her gallery, though she wasn't sure why.

Pinkie let out a long "awwwwww." Fluttershy was still looking at her phone with a small smile. Apple Jack looked like she was readying some kind of joke. Luckily Sunset cut in.

"Sorry about my bike. It took a while to load it into Apple Jack's truck. Looks like you two managed to have fun without us though." Ok, maybe not so lucky. Even she was giving Rainbow a funny look. Particularly the outfit she was wearing.

Rainbow groaned more. "I guess you could say I lost a bet."

"Don't be rude Rainbow darling," Rarity said while latching onto Rainbows arm. "I am most definitely claiming you." She then looked to the rest of their friends. "Because Rainbow and I are such intimate friends, she allowed me the privilege to work my magic on her."

Rainbow could only cringe. "Seriously Rares, did you think AJ wasn't already going to have enough fun with this?"

"Oh please Rainbow. She can't make fun if we own it." Rainbow Dash suddenly realized Rarity's hands had shifted down to her own. She was about to question this when Rarity wrenched her arm into the air. "Doesn't she look fabulous girls?"

Rainbow gave Rarity a glare. The smile in it's way was impenetrable. Rainbow groaned again, but then struck a pose and dawned a cocky smile. She did a spin in Rarity's grip before stepping over and motioning for Rarity to do the same. She did not need much prompting. She did a spin with a flourish and took a bow, motioning for Rainbow to do the same. Rainbow did not.

There was a loud Pinkie Pie brand "Woooooo!" as well as some applause, and not just from the four onlooking girls. They both took the praise in stride, though Rainbow still rolled her eyes.

"Are we done here, or are you guys just gonna gawk at us like pervs for the rest of the night?" Rainbow shot the words at her friends, though her voice lost some sting when she realized Pinkie had her phone out and must have been filming the whole thing.

"Oh yeah, I was looking at that while we were pulling in." Sunset again, taking out her phone again. "If we still wanted to see a movie tonight we'd probably have to go now."

"What are you talking about? Looks like there's lots of showings of some good stuff."

"Yeah, but we're not really going because we want to see a movie. We just wanna hang out with you. So we were actually thinking we could go see this dumb romcom." Sunset said this while scrolling down to a different listing that indeed did not have very many showings

Rainbow made a face. "Why?"

Pinkie chimed in next. "Because it looks like it might be super funny, but it's already been out for a super long time. So we'll be free to laugh and chat and laugh so much we could practically throw a party in there. A super dupper 'we're gonna miss you during soccer season Rainbow Dash but not really miss you miss you since we're still going to see you almost every day but still don't want you to forget all about us and also we might be trying to...," the next part of her rant was cut off as three hands went over her mouth. As usual, Pinkie wasn't deterred. "....., ....., ....., Party." She finally got out as there hands lifted.

Rainbow didn't pay it much attention as she was considering. "I don't know. I mean, it does sound kinda cool, but I did kinda want to see the Daring Do movie."

"Oh pish posh Rainbow," Rarity cut in now. "You've already seen it twice. And besides," Rarity was once again giving Rainbow a look that took her off guard as she leaned forward and fluttered her eyelashes at her. "I do believe it's my turn to pick."

Rainbow snapped out of the look to turn back to the outdoors store they'd come from. She groaned. "Fine, romcom it is."

Rainbow knew she had weird friends, but that night they seemed even weirder. They came up with an idea at the theater that would make it easier for them to chat. Instead of all sitting on one row, they sat between two so no one was too far apart. That left Sunset, Pinkie, and Fluttershy in the row behind Rainbow, Rarity, and Apple Jack.

Pinkie also spent way too much time trying to get different people in the group to try to play something called 'the Pocky game' with twizzlers. And since Apple Jack really didn't care for watching movies, it wasn't weird for her to randomly nod off during them. It was weird that it happened before the end of the first act though. It was also weird that she kept managing to lean into Rainbows seat area. It got so bad that Rainbow gave up and was just leaning as far away from the potentially drooling farmer as possible, right into Rarity's personal space.

And maybe the weirdness was contagious. She distinctly remembered something Rarity had recently said to her. 'Oh you shouldn't be so hesitant to show your softer side Rainbow dear.' For whatever reason she remembered this when she decided it would be much more comfortable, for both herself and Rarity, if she just casually placed her arm over Rarity's shoulder.

It indeed was more comfortable. She didn't remember much of the movie, but she did remember the good time they had. All of them.

Author's Note:

Again sorry this one too so long. Once again it just kept getting longer as I wrote. Next chapter might be the last one, but I might be focusing on other works for a while.
As usual, let me know what you think.

Comments

[London-CMC]

Dude.

Another killer chapter man, I am loving the slow and purposeful progression of making Rainbow realise she possible has feelings for Rarity and I’m loving the progression of helping rainbow to become more feminine and girlie, it’s awesome.

You are hitting all the nails on the head with the story your using everything we know about them to open them both up. It’s great, I cannot wait to see where the future sections go and I cannot wait for when you have soccer session start and show maybe just how much rarity and rainbow miss hanging out.

[Natedogg2006]

9501467
I always love your comments. I love this one too, but oh my god does it make not spoiling difficult. Unfortunately you will have to wait just like everyone else, even if your speculation on the future might have given me more ideas I might not have time to put in.

[London-CMC]

9501765
I think my comments are somewhat both your Muse and idea factory for helping you with these hahaha.

I cannotbwait to see the next chapter of Prom Protector with how good this one was

[Doubt]

Great chapter. Lots of adorable moments. Rainbow Dash just can't keep her hands off Rarity at this point, can she?

[Natedogg2006]

9502290
To be fair, do you think you could in her situation.

[Vaguely Demented]

Pink camo, for when you need to hide in the painted desert, or stalk someone on Valentine’s Day.

[Natedogg2006]

9503114
I'm guessing it might help if you were trying to hide in Pinky's room too. But then yeah, pretty much out of usefulness at that point. Although you made it creepy now that I think about it. There probably is a lot of stalking on Valentine's day, and I've always wondered who this specific group of people are who buy that stuff enough for it to still be in stores. I'm suddenly even more happy I'm spoken for and completely undesirable to anyone else.

[Vaguely Demented]

9503229
I make everything creepy. It’s either an innate talent or character flaw depending on who you ask.

[Natedogg2006]

9503239
Let's just call it an ability to make the world a little more interesting. That's pretty much how I view most alleged character flaws.

[Vaguely Demented]

9503246
Seeing as another flaw of mine is rampant egomania I would have to agree.

[Natedogg2006]

9503249
That is an awesome answer and it makes your profile pic make sense.

[Vaguely Demented]

9503278
I went with the pic because I’m an old school Dragon Warrior/Quest fan. That and I love the nonplussed look Rainbow is giving the slime.

[Natedogg2006]

9503286
Yeah, that look makes me smile every time you comment on one of my fics. But it also sounds like you might indulge in a Rainbow style gloat if prompted. I read a fic just recently where someone was stoked you had commented. Has being friends with you blinded me to some kind of fame that you have?

[Vaguely Demented]

9503317
Apparently I have commented on enough fics to have at least one person compare me to Justin Y. Grand total I am only aware of one person reacting as if a comment from me holds any weight or significance beyond anyone else.