How to *not* Hide Your Relationship

by Cxcd

06 - RARITY

Sweetie Belle was Rarity’s sister, so it wasn’t that far of a logical leap to assume that she had seen sides of her sister that nopony alive had ever seen before. She had watched as her sister jumped in exuberation as an idea struck her head, and she had watched her lock herself in her designing room for hours at a time as she worked overtime to get an entire store’s worth of dresses out in time. She had seen her sad, happy, distressed, and angry. But, in all of her time living with Rarity, Sweetie had never seen the side of business.

Rarity sat at the coffee table, her eyes cold and calculating as her hooves interlocked with one on top of the other. She was reading Sweetie Belle like a book, whether or not Sweetie Belle wanted her to see her like one. After teasing her with information she would’ve wanted, Rarity begun to lock the filly down like a business deal. Sweetie would’ve preferred the Rarity she was used to, being over the moon with joy in this moment. But, instead, it seemed like Rarity was going everything in her ability to control the situation.

“What do you want in exchange for this information?” Rarity asked in a careful, level, and even tone. It was dull and boring, devoid of any Canterlot mannerisms she might’ve picked up over the years. Sweetie Belle, despite being the one who approached Rarity in the beginning, felt as if she was trapped in the boutique that was formerly her home. She gulped, scootching her eyes away from Rarity carefully.

“I- uh- I didn’t think I’d get this far…” She admitted mostly to herself, even if Rarity did hear, adjusting herself and sitting up straighter. If she wasn’t before, her eyes were now focusing directly on the filly instead of through her. It did little to loosen Sweetie’s nerves, however, about the situation. A thin bead of sweat fell down, not Sweetie’s forehead, but rather Rarity’s.

“Anything you want, dear.” Rarity said in that same robotic and drab tone of voice.

“I want, uh…” Sweetie Belle was a filly of wants. Although she wasn’t spoiled, as ‘no’ was something she was used to hearing, she still had the tendency to ask for things. A shiny toy in the window of a toy store, a gumball out of the gumball machine, etcetera. But now, being put on the spot like this, all of those things she used to want suddenly vanished quicker than she vanished from that tree branch earlier. After all, Twilight teaching Sweetie Belle how to teleport was the worst decision she would ever make. She was left simply staring blankly at Rarity.

Although…
Sugarcube Corner sounds reaallly good right about now…

“I want…” Sweetie mused very slowly. Rarity, if she had claws, would’ve been putting indent marks in the table where her hooves sat. But her years spent perfecting her negotiation skills were being put to the test and forcing her to imitate that of a statue, refusing her any leeway of showing her emotions. “I want a double-chocolate-deluxe-cherry-banana-split-made-by-Pinkie-Pie.” She said in one, long breath.

Rarity blinked.

“Does it have to be made by Pinkie-”

“Yes.”

“Alright, then.” Rarity took a deep breath. Although she was a master in the arts of business practice, she would be the first to admit that the anticipation was starting to show it’s cracks through her calm demeanor. “After you tell me who’s dating who, I’ll get you your double-cherry… deluxe… thing.” In the first bit of emotion she had shown Sweetie since they sat down, Rarity leaned forwards eagerly and let a twitching smile envelop her face. “Who is it.” She asked.

Sweetie Belle bit her tongue, looking around the boutique in contemplation. Regret was itching away at her head as she thought over the conversation. After all, was she willing to give up the couple’s biggest and darkest secret in exchange for a simple, meaningless banana split that would be gone within the hour?

Yes.

“It’sTwilightandRainbowDash!”

There was a slight choking sound as Rarity leaned far back in her spot on the floor, her eyes expanding several orders of magnitude larger than any normal pony’s eyes should expand. Her jaw unhinged as she stared blankly at Sweetie, with her head cocked to one side. Her hooves fell from the coffee table, staring at Sweetie in shock.

“T-Twilight? A-And… Are you sure?” She whispered. Sweetie Belle nodded.

“I saw them with my eyes. They were sitting under an apple tree, and Twilight was holding Rainbow close to her chest, like… err…” She looked around the room and spotted a discarded stuffed animal that definitely wasn't hers in the corner. Sweetie Belle focused, her horn sputtering to life as the little animal was lifted in a soft, green aura.

Then, it shot across the room quicker than a bullet, landing into Sweetie’s hooves. Twilight did say she had ‘great magical potential,’ or whatever. She cleared her throat, turning back to Rarity. She leaned back, placing the animal somewhere on her stomach and held it tight.

“They were sitting like this.” She explained. Rarity watched, her gaze of confusion slowly dropping into one of understanding. “She was holding Rainbow- so I would be Twilight, right? She was holding Rainbow like this, and Rainbow was going on and on about how sad she was, and…” Sweetie Belle cocked her head to the side as she watched Rarity’s slowly morph into an angry one. “Uh… you alright?”

“How could’ve I…” Rarity stood up from the coffee table, anger clearly evident on her face. Sweetie Belle gulped as Rarity illuminated her own horn, plucking a scroll from the pile of them she had left on the floor since yesterday. “I… I should’ve seen the signs…”

“Rarity, what are you doing? What signs?” Sweetie asked. Whether or not she heard her was a question for another day. Rarity carefully used her magic to unroll the scroll.

“I should’ve…” Sweetie gained an element of concern as the scroll had a drawing of Twilight and Rainbow Dash in the exact same pose she had not only seen them doing, but also the one she had just mimicked to Rarity. “I should’ve known you had no idea what you were talking about.”

“Wh- huh?” Sweetie asked. “What in the hay are you talking-”

“Look, see?” Rarity levitated the scroll closer to Sweetie Belle. “I drew this. Notice their poses?” Sweetie nodded, still not entirely sure where this was going. “It’s obvious that you simply hoofed through my drawings, found one you fancied, and then tried to extort me out of a banana split!”

“What?” Sweetie shouted. Rarity gave her a deep glare. “I- I didn’t do that! It’s just a coincidence! Why would I lie about something so big?!”

“I don’t know, Sweetie. Why did you?” Rarity huffed, rolling up the scroll. “Oh, please. Did you seriously think that I would believe Twilight Sparkle found somepony special? As if. That pony is as love-blind as, as Applejack so eloquently put it, a pigeon with a blindfold. I can’t believe you thought I was this gullible.” Rarity was mad, but she slowly seemed to be cooling off into a dissapointed parent rather than an irate sister.

“B- But… I saw it!”

“And please,” Rarity turned, shooting her one last angry side-eye. “You are not getting your banana split.”

“Oh, come on!”

Just as the words left her mouth, however, and before Sweetie was about to come up with another retort, there was a huge bang reminiscent of an explosion sound from one of the windows leading into the room. Both Sweetie and Rarity jumped in surprise, turning to look as, miraculously, the window wasn’t shattered by the rainbow blur that now found home on Rarity’s carpet.

Rarity, for the second time that day, found herself staring slack jawed as she slowly realized that the rainbow blur was in fact Rainbow Dash, like a prince out of a storybook, holding Twilight like the princess she had just rescued out of a tower.

“Rarity!” Rainbow shouted, gently setting Twilight onto the ground. She looked dazed, rocking back and forth as Rainbow took the lead, closing the distance between the slack jawed white Unicorn and the Pegasus. “Look- we wanted- or, we were gonna tell you today, but the crusaders saw us kissing, and I’m so, so, so sorry you had to find out through Sweetie, but if you’ll please give us a few minutes to explain everything, I promise it’ll all make sense, okay?” Rainbow shouted directly at Rarity. In any other context, Rarity would’ve been angry at the intruding Pegasus, perhaps clamping her ears to her head out of fear of her hearing being damaged. Instead, she was as still as a statue, her eyes expanded to the size of dinner plates.

“Uh, guys, she didn’t actually believe me.” Sweetie said from halfway across the room. Rarity looked around Rarity’s head at Sweetie, sitting on the ground. Twilight had recovered from her daze, shaking her head and finding Sweetie with her eyes.

“She… didn’t?” Twilight asked, beginning to trot forwards. “Wait… does that mean-”

“You two are DATING?!” Rarity suddenly screeched, vibrating the building with her shout. Rainbow jumped, her wings flapping herself away from Rarity and closer to Twilight. “You two are- da- gah- oh- oh my- gr- ea-”

“I think you overloaded Rarity.” Sweetie observed. With a gulp, both mares nodded, both taking a step back. Twilight stopped shorter than Rainbow, who had already made it to the window, when her rear hoof crunched onto a loose scroll. Her magic ignited and she plucked the scroll out from under her and unraveled it. Twilight immediately paled.

“Oh no!” Twilight turned the scroll around. “Rainbow, look!” Rainbow quickly glanced away from the window, similarly feeling the color drain from her face as her eyes quickly read over the drawing. “She was designing dresses for us!”

“Sweet Celestia!” Rainbow looked back at Rarity, who was still sputtering as her world slowly collapsed around her. “Twi’, we gotta get out of here before-” Rainbow paused her sentence as she realized her entire vision was suddenly dyed a light baby blue. “Huh? What’s-” Against her will, she felt her hooves slide until she was facing Rarity. Her horn was ignited, the source of the color coming from her, with a devious smile spread across her face. One that made Rainbow start to sweat cold.

“Oh, you two lovebirds aren’t going anywhere.” Her smile was dark and dangerous as she slowly approached the stone-still Rainbow, who was suddenly realizing that she couldn’t break free from Rarity’s magic. “Do you even begin to understand what this means? Your two palettes match perfectly! Her eyes, your coat- it’s like you two were made for each other!” She laughed manically. “All I need is a few, little, enny-teeny-tiny measurements…”

“Oh, buck me.” Rainbow whined. Rarity laughed again, seemingly taking pride in the distress she was causing Rainbow. For a moment, all Rainbow could see was Rarity’s maniacal face, and perhaps out of the corner of her eye, Sweetie Belle slowly realizing exactly what she had caused.

Then, it was all gone.

For the second time that day, her vision’s light baby blue was forcibly disbanded and replaced with a purple hue. There was an ear-splitting crack, and suddenly, her hooves hit wooden floorboards. Which was strange, as no less than two seconds earlier, she had become accommodated to Rarity’s plush white carpet. She stumbled forwards a few steps, no longer being held by Rarity’s magic, and slowly realized that this was no longer Rarity’s loft, but rather Twilight’s bedroom.

“Woah!” Rainbow blinked, rubbing her eyes as she looked around the familiar room. “Was that was teleporting feels like? It’s so… sudden. I thought there’d be more, like, noise and stuff.”

“Honestly, that’s what a lot of ponies say.” Twilight trotted next to Rainbow, rubbing her forehead in pain. “Whoo. That took a lot out of me.” She cringed. “I’m not used to displacing two ponies like that. Nor jumping so far away…”

“Oh, Twi!” Rainbow smiled in her definition of ‘softly.’ “You didn’t have to do that. I could’ve, I dunno, karate-kicked my way out of there. But, you know, thanks anyways. Rarity was looking a liiitle bit evil there.” She reached up to brush Twilight’s forehead lovingly. Instead, the top of her fetlock brushed against the base of Twilight’s horn. She yelped, ripping her hoof away. “Gah! What the hay?!”

“Yeah.” Twilight nodded. “Horn hurts.”

“Horn hurts? Twi, why is your horn, like, a bajillion degrees?” Rainbow said quickly. “Twi, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Unicorns can handle it.” Twilight said, but she still had a faint cringe present on her face. “Like I said, I’m not used to displacing two ponies at once, so I had to put a little extra energy into the spell. But I’m physically not used to it, so a lot of the extra effort comes out as heat.”

“But…” Rainbow lowered her head, approaching her slowly and settling her hoof onto her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“This is the second time you asked that.” Twilight rolled her eyes, but still had a smile. She grabbed Rainbow’s hoof and moved it off of her shoulder and held it reassuringly between the two of them. “I’m fine, Dashie.” Her smile faded as her face turned dire. “But Rarity knows about us. And knowing Rarity, she’s going to tell everypony. Well, not everypony, but all of our friends, at least.”

“Okay…” Rainbow swallowed. “Then, I guess… we’ll just have to tell them first!” Rainbow straightened up, standing tall and confidentially. “I mean, we already planned on it, but I guess we’ll just have to be quicker than her!”

“Are you ready for-”

“Of course I am ready!” Rainbow shouted a little louder than she meant to. Twilight took a step back, but sighed anyways, looking back at her with determination.

“Alright. Let’s get going, then.” Twilight began trotting out of her room and down the staircase, Rainbow following just behind her. “I’m not going to be able to teleport us. Rainbow, can you fly us?”

“I can try.” Rainbow said less confidentially than she usually shone. “I’ll get tired, but I think it’ll still be quicker than running.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Wait!” Rainbow suddenly shouted, coming to a crawl on the floor. Twilight jumped, turning to face her. “Where’s Spike? He should come with us!”

“Spike missed a test yesterday, so he’s making it up at the school.” Twilight quickly said. “Now, come on!”

“Wait!” She said again. Twilight stopped once more, groaning as she turned around. “Since when did Spike go to school?”

“He’s a baby dragon, Rainbow. Of course he goes to school.” She began trotting once more. “You probably never noticed because you wake up at the same time he gets out of school.”

“Huh.” Rainbow nodded. “I… guess that makes sense…”

“Now come on. Rarity’s probably told half of our friends already.”

Comments

[Yogiboy]

I was right, Rarity was never going to figure it out unless it in her face. Great chapter bye the way.

[Axolotl222]

“He’s a baby dragon, Rainbow. Of course he goes to school.” She began trotting once more. “You probably never noticed because you wake up at the same time he gets out of school.”

Lol. I guess Rarity isn't the only one who has a problem with observing her surroundings...

[EternalLink]

Does this mean that Sweetie Belle still gets her bribe ice cream?

[LastToTheParty]

Great chapter. I really like the depiction of the CMC you have in your story, first Applebloom not telling her sister, after seeing her reaction to the news, and now Sweetie Bell trying to extort her sister. I like to imagine while she is mainly motivated by greed here, she still doesn't damn all the consequences for her own gains but knows that Rarity would never disapprove of two of her friends being together, quite the opposite in fact. So the combination of childishness while not being totally naive to what the revelation would do I find quite charming .

Also, Rarity actually having drawn Twilight and Rainbow in just the way they were discovered, is not only hilarious but shows her understanding of relationships in general and is just great .

[Leviathan Eclipse]

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You're asking the real questions here

[Leviathan Eclipse]

Next chapter when?

[Cxcd]

11825060
everything hurts to write

[Leviathan Eclipse]

11825307
Have you tried listening to melancholic music to fuel your creative juices? Or just songs that give off the vibes you're trying to portray in your story?

[Cxcd]

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I listen to whatever I feel like at the time. I don't think I choose songs based on my mood, but I might and just not realize it.

Recently I've been listening to Stayed Gone, Loser Baby, and Finale from Hazbin hotel. I also binge Tally Hall, Will Wood, and The Living Tombstone. The songs I always come back to for repeat listens are Nonexistent Meet-Cute, How To Kill a Monster, and basically the entirety of the Cutiemarks album.

[Leviathan Eclipse]

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https://youtu.be/PO7JA6vTgHk?si=kIPcdr4OTaVFu6lQ

I usually listen to this on repeat these days. Or when I'm writing my story about shining and Twilight I listen to music about siblings. Also in the past I've utilized the creative boost one gets from taking lsd but I also live in Seattle so it's legal here. Not everyone can be so lucky

[One Dashie]

and the next chapter?