Chapter 1: The Clichéd Morning After
Pinkie Pie’s eyes fluttered open. She woke up happier than she ever has been, which was a big deal, since she wakes up happy every morning.
Any other day, the pink party pony would immediately hop out of bed and begin her day. Going back to sleep was never an option for her, because why would one waste hours of the new day sleeping when they can go out and live life? After having an elaborate conversation with her pet alligator, the next thing she would do is start her bubble bath, check in with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, have breakfast with the twins, then start baking.
It’s not like her to pay attention to the little details, but the very first thing she would do in the morning is give her restless legs a much-needed stretch. Unfortunately for her legs, they were trapped between a pair of canary-yellow ones.
Pinkie smiled brightly when the first thing she saw as she woke up was the peaceful, asleep face of her new marefriend. Everypony with a special somepony says waking up next to the one you love is the best way to start your morning. Pinkie could now agree with them.
Fluttershy slept with a small smile on her face, with only a few inches of free space between them. Her legs wrapped around Pinkie like a clingy foal, and their bodies softly pressed against each other, sharing warmth. With how close they were together, the pegasus’ light pink mane almost tangled with her chaotic, dark pink strands. The dishevelment of their hair made Pinkie giggle as she wrapped her legs around the other, completing their mutual embrace. She allowed herself to relax. With the Cakes still out of town, and a beautiful mare in her forelegs, opening Sugarcube Corner was the last thing on her mind.
Fluttershy’s body rose and fell in a slow rhythm, and Pinkie could feel the other’s heartbeat against her chest. With their faces hovering this closely, the pegasus’ slow breaths fell onto the earth pony’s muzzle. Pinkie felt her heart fluttering as she held the incredibly soft pegasus closer to her. She leaned in and nuzzled Fluttershy’s cheek, giggling to herself as the sleeping mare unconsciously nuzzled her back.
Memories of last night rushed into her mind as she stared at the pretty pegasus’ face. When Pinkie passed out the invitations to her ‘We-Haven’t-Had-a-Party-Like-This-in-a-Long-Time Party’, the last thing she expected was for this to happen. All in one single night, the shy pegasus confessed her feelings to her, Pinkie accepted her feelings, and they sealed their new relationship with a kiss.
And it wasn’t just any old boring kiss. Pinkie’s already pink cheeks flushed as she thought back to the many kisses they shared last night. Looking at Fluttershy’s lips, she remembered how soft they felt against her own and how sweet they tasted of hard apple cider. Each kiss they shared was passionate and loving, but most especially intimate.
Pinkie was happy to be with her, and she was very happy for Fluttershy. Apparently the shy pegasus has had these feelings for the party pony for a while, and Pinkie couldn’t imagine how happy Fluttershy could’ve been when those feelings were finally confessed and accepted.
Underneath all the happiness she felt right now, there was a hint of worry in her. How quickly their new relationship was going was what worried her the most. Pinkie had never been in a relationship before, and the last thing she wanted to do was mess things up. Fluttershy’s too amazing of a pony to mess things up with.
Fluttershy was drunk when she confessed to her and when they kissed for the first time. Compared to how long the shy pegasus had these hidden feelings for her, Pinkie had never thought about Fluttershy in a lovey-dovey way until last night. Nevertheless, she was willing to jump into the new relationship. It wasn’t to pity Fluttershy, because she truly does love the shy pegasus, and she was willing to give them a shot.
Maybe their relationship was moving too fast, but Pinkie would do anything to keep Fluttershy smiling.
Her thoughts were soon interrupted when the pony cuddled up next to her began to stir. As worried as Pinkie felt about their relationship, she couldn’t help but feel excited when her new marefriend began to stir. It was their clichéd morning after a night of partying and drinking—more so, hosting the party and Fluttershy drinking. Before her marefriend’s eyes opened, the shy pegasus mumbled in her sleep before letting out a small moan.
“Pinkie... not so rough...”
If only Pinkie could go into Fluttershy’s dream and scold her alternate self for treating the shy pegasus roughly.
As Fluttershy’s eyes—Pinkie snickered—fluttered open, Pinkie Pie beamed at her as she waited for that beautiful smile to appear on her marefriend’s face.
She tried to imagine herself kissing, holding, and loving Fluttershy. It definitely wasn’t a bad image. Fluttershy had the biggest smile on her face, and Pinkie wanted to see that smile in reality.
The canary pegasus gazed at Pinkie blankly with her aquamarine eyes before wincing and shutting them immediately. She groaned cutely as she attempted to suppress her headache by rubbing her hooves against her forehead, accidentally hitting Pinkie in the face with a knee due to how close they were. Pinkie laughed nervously as Fluttershy then rubbed her eyes, not realizing that she had just elbowed her marefriend’s face.
As the pink party pony waited for her marefriend to recollect herself, she realized that the single window in her room was casting rays of the sun directly into the hungover pegasus’ eyes. She purposely left that window free of shutters or blinds to have the sunlight shine down on her every morning, but now she regretted that decision as Fluttershy continued to force her eyes closed.
Fluttershy thought she didn’t drink that much last night. Thirteen mugs of hard cider wasn’t that much, to her standards. Even with that thought in mind, it felt like her head was currently pounding, and the sunlight in her eyes felt like lasers instead. Despite the pain, the warmth at her side was something she used to distract herself from it. As she continued to rub her forehead, the canary pegasus suddenly felt the light recede and the warmth next to her increase... and what felt like light kisses being planted onto her forehead.
Forcing her eyes open, Fluttershy’s vision was filled with pink—pink from the room around her, the bedsheets below her, and the curvy neck in front of her eyes. Looking up the pink neck, Fluttershy found Pinkie Pie blocking the window behind her with her head, rays of light beaming around her as she smiled at her.
When waking up next to a pony in their own bed, Fluttershy’s first instinct was to freak out, but with the way her long-time crush held her gently and smiled warmly at her, instead of her usually large grin, the shy pegasus found herself relaxing in her embrace. Even as she relaxed, she could feel her heartbeat hammering in her chest.
“P... Pinkie?”
“Good morning, ‘Shy-Shy!” Fluttershy winced slightly at the suddenly loud and cheerful voice, but was immediately relaxed again when Pinkie continued to softly kiss her forehead. “You’re doing great so far! You’re not freaking out like I said you would!”
“Besides, you’re going to wake up in my bed, and unlike your everyday fanfiction where you start freaking out, I’ll be holding you, and you’ll have too bad of a headache to freak out!”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened. Pinkie was spot on. So it wasn’t just another dream…
Just like the party pony said last night, Pinkie was holding her, and although her headache was receding, she wasn’t freaking out either. The pink party pony was also giving her loving kisses, just like she remembered in her apparent dream. Fluttershy felt like freaking out, but in excitement instead. Everything she thought was just another dream actually happened, and she actually remembered everything, even though her silly drunken self said she wouldn’t.
Pinkie beamed as Fluttershy smiled to the point where her face could split in half. There’s the smile!
With her headache completely forgotten beneath her happiness, Fluttershy lunged forward and captured Pinkie’s muzzle into a passionate kiss. It wasn’t a long kiss, but a short one that expressed just as much love.
“Oh, Pinkie! I wasn’t dreaming!” Fluttershy excitedly exclaimed after parting from her marefriend. “I even remembered everything! I-I actually told you my feelings, and we kissed! You were such an amazing kisser, and I’m sorry if I wasn't, but I remembered!”
Pinkie almost fainted at how adorable an excited Fluttershy was. “That’s so super-duper, ‘Shy-Shy! I’m glad you didn’t forget! Especially our kissies, because you were great!” Pinkie began to unconsciously play with her marefriend’s long, pink, and luxuriant mane, which emitted a coo from the pegasus. “And since you remembered, I guess I don’t have to tell you what happened last night.”
Fluttershy frowned slightly, but her smile still remained. “I hope you don’t mind... but... can you tell me anyway? I-If that’s okay... Maybe there were some parts I don’t remember.”
Pinkie giggled as a blush formed on the shy pegasus’ face. She playfully tangled the end of Fluttershy’s mane around her hoof. “Of course I don’t mind! I’ll do whatever makes my ‘Shy-Shy happy!”
Everypony with a special somepony says waking up next to the one you love is the best way to start your morning. This wasn’t the case for a certain unicorn.
It wasn’t pleasing to wake up with the feeling of sledgehammers pounding onto your skull, and it especially wasn’t pleasing waking up with another pony literally lying on top of her. Although the feel of the soft coat and the toned muscles of the body pressed against herself was pleasing, it was the fact that her memory was completely foggy of hooking up with a stallion last night that displeased her, and the fact that the stallion was a cyan pegasus mare with a colorful mane...
... And the fact that Rainbow was drooling on her.
Rarity screamed, which caused Rainbow to do the same and fall out of the bed, which caused a muffled, squeaky voice to yell from another room.
“Rarity! I’m going to try getting a lumberjack cutie mark again if you don’t be quiet!” Sweetie Belle squeaked out.
“Did we... um... did we...” Fluttershy stammered before being interrupted by the pony cuddled on top of her.
“Did we have hot sex?” Pinkie casually finished for her, causing Fluttershy to blush at her straightforwardness. A sheepish blush formed on Pinkie’s face before she continued. “Well... we almost did, but... you were drunk and I was sober. I was going to do it for you, but I realized I shouldn’t. You were afraid that you wouldn’t remember anything the next morning, and I would never take your first time away from you! You don’t deserve that.”
Fluttershy smiled at her marefriend before leaning forward and nuzzling her. “You’re very sweet, Pinkie, but if you really wanted to last night, you could’ve. I mean... I wouldn’t mind, especially if it was with you.”
Pinkie actually was willing to go through with it last night, and it would have been another thing in their new relationship that went too fast. The pink party pony was silent before responding.
“‘Shy-Shy, how about we wait until it’s time? I really, really want it to be special, especially for you.”
The shy pegasus never would’ve expected to hear this from the pink party pony. She also didn’t expect to hear a hint of nervousness in her voice. “Of course, Pinkie.” Fluttershy smiled warmly as she placed a canary hoof on Pinkie’s cheek. “But... is something wrong? Are you nervous?”
“N-No!” Pinkie immediately rejected. In fact, she was nervous, but she felt she couldn’t worry her marefriend. Even if Fluttershy was a year older her, she was still Auntie Pinkie Pie, and she needed to be the strong one—the one to comfort the shy pegasus when she needed it. “Nopey-dopey-lopey! I’m totally fine, Flutterbutt!”
Fluttershy had no idea where that nickname came from, just like ‘Shy-Shy’, but she just hoped it didn’t stick. The new nickname was the least of her worries, because Pinkie wasn’t a very good liar, and she was clearly nervous. Maybe they should talk about it later. If Pinkie didn’t want to talk about it, they didn’t need to discuss it right now. Fluttershy did feel comfortable right now with her warm marefriend on top of her, softly pressed against her, and perhaps Pinkie didn’t want to ruin the moment.
“Okay.” Fluttershy pushed the issue to the back of her mind for later, and decided to change the subject. “So what happened next?”
Pinkie seemed to brighten up at the idea of continuing her story. “Oh! Well, we were just about to do the horizontal tango,” Pinkie said as her ears flopped, eyes fluttered, then her knee twitched, making Fluttershy cast her a confused look. “But RariDash interrupted us!”
Before Fluttershy could question her marefriend on why she combined the names of her two friends, the pair felt déjà vu as the door violently burst open and two ponies stumbled in. The exact same thing occurred last night, but with two different ponies.
“Sorry for havin’ to kick the door open,” Applejack groaned as she hauled a hungover, lavender alicorn on her back. “But this princess passed out on the counter and needs a bed pronto, and I ain’t so sure she should use Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s bed.”
Applejack halted mid-step when she found Pinkie Pie nestled comfortably on top of her shyest friend in bed.
“Hi, TwiJack!” Pinkie waved from her spot on top of a now blushing pegasus.
“Wha... what?” Applejack mumbled, trying to process what was going on.
Princess Twilight lifted her head from Applejack’s blonde mane before pointing at the pink-maned pair and letting out a snicker. “FlutterPie...”
Pinkie found herself bouncing down the streets of Ponyville.
Only a few moments ago, Pinkie walked—or bounced—Fluttershy home. The two had slept late into the afternoon, and the shy pegasus almost freaked when she realized she had hungry animals that missed breakfast to feed.
Just before Pinkie left her marefriend’s doorstep, Fluttershy gave her a full kiss on the lips, followed by a tiny, shy apology. Pinkie thought it was adorable. It was only their first time spending time away from each other since the party, and Fluttershy already felt she would miss her.
The pink party pony could be doing a number of things right now. She could be cleaning up Sugarcube Corner—which looked like it was hit by a tornado—or she could be passing out the invitations to her ‘Sorry-for-Forgetting-to-Host-the-Party Party’. She could even be helping her marefriend tend to her animals, but worrisome thoughts on her new relationship with Fluttershy bothered the usually carefree earth pony ever since she woke up in the morning, and she felt she needed advice from a certain pony.
Rainbow Dash wasn’t necessarily her first choice for romantic advice, seeing as the determined athlete shows no hints of interest in romance, but she didn’t need romantic advice, she needed Fluttershy-advice. Rainbow did grow up with the shy pegasus and most likely knew her the best out of anypony in Equestria.
Normally, when trying to find the cyan pegasus, the pink earth pony would call her name loudly in a sing-song voice, but Pinkie was pretty sure she knew exactly where she was, which is why she was headed toward Carousel Boutique. With the events of last night’s party fresh in her mind, it was obvious as to why the most unlikely pony would be in Ponyville’s dress shop.
“Urghhh...”
“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity sighed tiredly as she mimicked her hungover friend, rubbing her hooves against her forehead as an attempt to suppress her headache. “I’m truly sorry for screaming in your face.”
Rainbow would’ve responded, but she was busy having the worst hangover she’s ever had. Not because of the great amount of drinks she had last night, but due to having an overly dramatic unicorn scream right in front of her, and overly dramatic unicorns can scream really loud. Not to mention, falling out of the bed and hitting her throbbing head on the floor worsened her headache.
“Urggghhhh...”
Rarity sighed again as she ran a hoof through her mane, pushing her disgustingly disheveled hair to the back of her mind to care for her friend. She hesitated before getting up from her side of the bed. The unicorn still felt awkward around her friend, whom she may have drunkenly hooked up with.
She made her way to the side of her bed where Rainbow laid on the ground. She would’ve used her magic to lift the cyan pegasus and tuck her into the bed, but her head hurt way too much to cast even a simple levitation spell.
“Are you alright, darling?” Rarity asked as she loomed over the cyan pegasus. She knew that was a foolish question to ask, but that was all she could do at the moment.
Rainbow painfully forced open her eyes to find Rarity gazing at her with a worried look on her face. The cyan pegasus noticed how messy the usually prim and proper unicorn was. The light makeup she wore everyday was slightly smeared, and her snow white coat looked like it was matted with a dried something. Her eyes then fell upon Rarity’s purple mane, her pride and joy, which was disheveled, tangled, and droopy of its usual curls. She also saw something that looked like it was misplaced into her mane, comfortably tucked behind her ear, and her eyes widened.
“Urghh–AHHHHH!”
“Rainbow?!” Rarity shut her eyes, placing her hooves over her now ringing ears. “What’s the matter?! What happened?!”
The cyan pegasus leaped up from her spot beneath the alabaster unicorn as if she was never in pain from her headache. She pointed a shaky hoof at Rarity. “W-Wha... What is that?!”
Rarity groaned after the ringing in her ears subsided. “Rainbow, dear, I have no idea what you’re talking about... and you heard Sweetie Belle, please keep it down if you would.”
“B-Behind your l-left ear!” Rainbow continued to yell, ignoring Rarity’s request.
“I know my mane isn’t in the best condition right now,” Rarity said as she blindly reached behind her left ear. “But it’s not like it’s dirty enough to nest bugs, or whatever it is that’s so–”
Rarity interrupted herself when she pulled out a feather from behind her ear. “Okay, maybe enough to nest birds, but...” She trailed off when she took another look at the feather. It was a shade of blue that matched the coat of the panicked pegasus in front of her.
“Th-That’s my... longest primary feather,” Rainbow stammered after extending her left wing and taking a good look at it.
Rarity stared at the long, cyan feather. She was confused as to why her friend was so panicked, and the alabaster unicorn was obviously not a pegasus, so she didn’t understand the importance of a pegasus’ primary feather. She glanced at Rainbow and shrugged. "Do you want it back?" She asked, unable to come up with anything else.
Rainbow took another good look at her friend’s disheveled state. Looking at her matted coat for a second time, it wasn't hard to figure out that it was sweat that was dried into her white fur. Rainbow then looked down at her own body and realized she was in the same state, disheveled and matted.
Memories of last night instantly rushed through her mind, and it contained a lot of drinking and fillyfooling.
The two very different friends stood in an uncomfortable silence. Rarity glanced at Rainbow awkwardly. Luckily their eyes didn’t meet, since Rainbow’s were glued to the cyan feather still in Rarity’s hoof. With the unicorn’s foggy head starting to clear up, she began to remember some memories of her time with Rainbow last night, at Pinkie Pie’s party.
“All she needs is a pair of sunglasses!” Rainbow babbled. “It works every time!”
Rarity rolled her eyes, as she clumsily flipped her mane to side. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. A mares’ beauty, such as Fluttershy’s, does not compare to some crude sunglasses.”
“Yeah right!” Rarity heard the pegasus state. She turned to her friend, only to find a cyan pegasus already sporting a pair of sunglasses. “I’ll prove it to you!”
The alabaster unicorn watched as Rainbow took a swig of her cider and attempted to call over a random stallion, flashing a smirk toward the pony she's never met. It caught his attention, but it also caught Rarity’s attention. It was as if she was transitioned into one of her romance novels, because Rainbow’s multicolored mane waved in slow motion, each different hue blowing behind her as she flapped her wings. The cyan pegasus’ cocky smirk twinkled at her, followed by the sunglasses.
Rarity had just said sunglasses doesn’t compare to beauty, but Rainbow was indeed beautiful in her own way. Before she could even think—which her drunken self couldn’t—she grabbed Rainbow’s face between her hooves and pulled her into a fierce kiss.
Rainbow’s eyes widened behind her sunglasses as Rarity ran her hooves through her colorful mane and proceeded to kiss her. She surrendered and found herself returning the kiss as the unicorn pushed her tongue into her mouth.
“Rainbow we... did we–”
“We totally bucked!” Rainbow finished for her, her chest heaving in and out between panicked breaths.
Rarity winced at her friend’s uncouth confirmation. “Darling, please–”
“Are you even a fillyfooler?! B-Because I don’t think I am!” Rainbow interrupted.
“Lesbimare, Dash!” Rarity scolded the rainbow-maned pegasus as a way to correct her. “And I am not.”
“Then why’d we buck?!”
“Made love, Dash...” The well-mannered unicorn sighed, rubbing her muzzle as she corrected her friend a second time. “And how should I know? I’m pretty sure we were both drinking. Maybe one thing led to another, and we had no way of controlling ourselves,” Rarity sighed again.
“Everything’s fine, dear. Look, we can just put this whole thing behind ourselves, and if you want, we shall never speak of this ever again. We could even look back at this as just something to laugh at!” Rarity finished.
Rainbow seemed to relax a bit at her friend’s reassuring words, but as she saw the feather still in the unicorn’s grasp, she still felt unsure about this whole situation. “You don’t understand, Rare. That’s my primary feather. It’s not just any feather that could’ve got mixed up in our buck session.” The cyan pegasus received a glare. “When pegasi give their longest primary feather from their left wing to another pony...”
Rarity’s glare softened, and she nodded, allowing the pegasus to continue.
The cyan pegasus’ face flushed, embarrassed for what she was about to say. “It’s a sign of trust, deep affection, and... true... lurve.” Rainbow’s mouth twisted as she was unable to say that four letter word. “It’s an ancient pegasi tradition. Every pegasus parent tells their kids to make sure the pony they give it to is... the one.”
It was Rarity’s turn to blush. She tried to respond to her friend but found herself speechless as she stared at the cyan primary feather which held so much meaning, an uncomfortable silence falling between the two friends.
A few more quiet seconds passed before the fashionista finally came to a decision. “Rainbow, how about–”
Rarity couldn’t even finish before the door to her room suddenly burst open. Both Rainbow Dash and Rarity screamed. Rainbow: due to her already panicked state. Rarity: because she half expected her little sister to be standing at the door with an axe in hoof and a crazed smile on her face.
“Hiya, Dashie! I need to talk to you!” Pinkie Pie bounced into the room, allowing the unicorn to let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, and you’re here too, Rare-Bear!”
Rarity cleared her throat before laughing nervously. “I do live here, darling.”
“Hope ya don’t mind,” Pinkie continued. “Sweetie Belle let me in! She just left and looked a tad mad, but she did say she was going crusading, so no worries!”
The alabaster unicorn sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, taking a seat on the floor. “I should be worried...”
Pinkie followed suit and sat across Rarity, turning to the pony she needed. “Dashie, I really, really need your help with Fluttershy.” A now calm cyan pegasus shot Pinkie a confused look. “I’m pretty worried about me and ‘Shy-Shy. I think we’ve been moving too fast, and–”
“Wait, wait, wait, hold up, Pinks.” Rainbow interrupted her, taking her seat next to Rarity and across Pinkie. “What do you mean, moving too fast?”
“Oh, yeah! You two probably forgot!” Pinkie brightened up. “Me and ‘Shy-Shy are marefriends now!”
Rarity and Rainbow’s eyes widened. Although Pinkie seeked advice from Fluttershy’s oldest friend, the unicorn decided to speak for the cyan pegasus, for she was busy gaping at the earth pony. “I’m very happy for you two, but what exactly is going too fast with your relationship with Fluttershy?”
“Well...” Pinkie began. “In only one night, Fluttershy told me she liked me, we became marefriends, kissed, made out, made out a lot—” A blush formed on Rainbow’s face, but not Rarity's, who has read novels which contained much more than just making out. “Fluttershy then told me she loved me, and I even said it back!”
“Well, I can definitely see why you would think you two are moving fast,” Rarity stated as she rubbed a hoof to her chin. Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t help but think her two friends made an adorable couple.
“So...” Rainbow spoke up, finished gaping. “This all happened last night... at the party?”
“Eeyup! ‘Shy-Shy and I almost did it, even, but you two interrupted us!” Pinkie finished.
Rainbow’s blush remained on her face as she turned to her friend she drunkenly hooked up with. “Um, what exactly were we doing?” She slowly asked.
“Oh, you two were sharing kissies!” Pinkie happily replied. “It was very passionate!”
Rainbow’s blush darkened, and a flush finally formed on Rarity’s face.
“You guys don’t remember?”
“I do. I just needed confirmation.” Rainbow confirmed with a deadpan expression.
Rarity forcefully changed the subject, “So, Pinkie, please continue. Tell us what you need help with. We’re here for you and Fluttershy.”
Pinkie showed a small smile to her friends. Although Dashie and Rare-Bear looked completely uncomfortable with each other, they still smiled back at her as confirmation. The two accepted Pinkie and her relationship with Fluttershy and would do their best to help with her issue. She paused before beginning. “I don’t wanna mess things up with ‘Shy-Shy.”
Rainbow and Rarity looked at each other, before awkwardly looking away and turning back to Pinkie. The pink party pony, who was usually carefree and happy, actually sounded concerned, which was definitely not like the cheerful bundle of energy. They nodded, allowing her to continue.
“Things may be going a bit fast with us, but as long we’re together, that doesn’t matter. I really wanna be the best marefriend to her. ‘Shy-Shy was sooo happy last night, and she even had the biggest smile I’ve ever seen when she woke up this morning.
“I’ve never been in a relationship before, so I’m not so sure I know what I’m doing. I really, really don’t wanna mess up, or do something that would make her sad or take her smile away.” A tiny frown formed on Pinkie’s face, her eyes falling to the ground, but Rainbow smiled.
“‘Shy-Shy doesn’t deserve that. Underneath all that shyness and quietness and nervousness, is a super, fantastic, amazing pony who should never be sad, even though she always is.” Pinkie finished.
Rainbow turned to Rarity before responding to her pink friend. This time, neither of them awkwardly looked away. A content smile remained on Rainbow’s face as Rarity closed her eyes and nodded.
“Pinks,” Rainbow began. “With what you just told us, I’m sure you’re gonna be a great marefriend to ‘Shy.” Pinkie’s head snapped toward Rainbow. “Heck, you’re the perfect mare for her!”
“Huh? Really? How can ya be so sure with just what I said?” Pinkie asked.
Rainbow let out a content sigh. “Me and ‘Shy have been together all throughout flight camp to today. I was her only friend, and believe me, I’ve tried to get her to meet new ponies. Especially in high school, when she was interested in having a special somepony. She wasn’t interested in any of the ponies at school, because they weren’t what she wanted.”
Rainbow placed a cyan hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “‘Shy wants a pony that makes her feel happy and comfortable. That’s why she wants you. You’re exactly what she wants.”
Pinkie stared at Rainbow, her lips beginning to quiver.
“So you wanna be a good marefriend to ‘Shy? Just be yourself, that’s what she wants.”
Pinkie threw her forelegs around her two friends’ necks as she began to bawl, tears literally splashing everywhere. Rainbow and Rarity’s heads bumped into each other, their cheeks squishing together as the hug crushed their windpipes. “That was so beautifully sappy, Dashie!”
She affectionately rubbed her cheek against Rainbow’s, who tried to keep a stoic expression on her face. Pinkie’s tears of happiness stopped immediately as she released her friends from her crushing grip. “Thanks, Dashie! You too, Rare-Bear!”
Rarity pat Pinkie’s back after rubbing her probably bruised neck. “You’re very welcome, Pinkie.”
The pink party pony sat quietly for a moment before brightening up. “Ooh! I have a great idea! Sorry, gals, I’d love to stay, but I’m gonna go see ‘Shy-Shy!”
“Of course. Not a problem at all, darling.” Rarity flashed her a smile.
“Hey, Pinks!” Rainbow stopped her pink friend before she could leave, a smirk on her face. “Never thought you’d be the one I have to tell this to, but you better take care of ‘Shy, you hear me?”
“Duh!” Pinkie happily replied before hopping from her spot on the floor and bouncing toward the exit of Rarity’s bedroom. Before taking her leave, she stopped and turned toward her friends. “By the way, you guys coming to my Sorry-for-Forgetting-to-Host-the-Party Party?”
Rarity and Rainbow glanced at each other before turning back to the party pony, confused about her choice for the party’s name and having the same question in each others’ minds. “Will the party be the same as last night’s party?”
Pinkie placed a hoof to her chin. “Well I’m going to spend time with ‘Shy-Shy tonight, and the Cakes come back tomorrow morning. So probably not!”
Both Rainbow Dash and Rarity let out a sigh of relief before nodding at Pinkie.
“See you tomorrow Dashie, Rare-Bear!” Pinkie finally bounced off toward the exit to Carousel Boutique.
“‘Shy-Shy thinks you two are a cute couple by the way~” The pegasus and unicorn heard Pinkie sing on her way out.
Rainbow blushed and rubbed the back of her neck nervously before turning to Rarity, who looked identically nervous. With the cheerful and talkative Pinkie Pie gone now, the two began to feel uncomfortable with each other again. She got up and stretched out her wings. “Well... I guess I’m gonna head out now, get outta your mane for now.”
Rarity sat quietly for a moment, then turned to her pegasus friend. “Just a moment, dear.” Rarity got up and picked up the cyan feather, which she dropped when Pinkie barged in, with a hoof. Deciding not to lift it with her magic, she made her way to Rainbow and held out her hoof holding the long primary feather. “It may not be of use to you any more, but it’s yours, and I do not deserve something this important to you.”
Rainbow looked at her feather in Rarity’s hoof. Turning at her friend, the unicorn had a small, accepting smile on her face.
“We’re still friends, right, Rainbow Dash?”
“Of course!” Rainbow immediately replied with absolutely no hesitation.
The unicorn let out a quiet sigh of relief at her friend’s response. “Thank you, Rainbow. The last thing I want is to lose our friendship because of... this.”
Rainbow took another look at the feather and her friend. Only a few minutes ago, the cyan pegasus was freaking out over drunkenly giving her primary feather to her friend. Looking at Rarity, she was actually glad she gave it to one of her best friends, instead of some random stallion—or mare. She did trust her, and the unicorn was generous enough to put all this behind themselves and even give the feather back. Thinking back to when she first woke up, Rainbow definitely thought she was overreacting, and she really didn’t have to.
Coming to a decision, she placed her own hoof over Rarity’s snow white hoof, the feather now held between two different hooves. “Hey, I’m the one who gave it to you, so keep it, Rarity. You’re the very first pony I’ve ever given my primary feather to, which I guess is a big deal, so do me a favor, and keep it,” Rainbow said with a chuckle after seeing uncertainty in Rarity’s eyes.
“We may not hang out with each other much, or be as close to each other than our other friends, which is stupid of me to say, but I do trust you...” Rainbow paused before continuing. She felt her face flushing at what she was about to say to one of her best friends. “... and lurve you.”
The uncertainty in Rarity’s azure eyes were immediately replaced with a bright happiness and relief.
“And hey, we did buck,” Rainbow added nonchalantly.
The alabaster unicorn stared at Rainbow for a second before giggling like a little filly. Rainbow joined in, unable to resist the fashionista’s surprisingly adorable laugh. As their laughs subsided, she removed her hoof from Rainbow’s, taking the long, cyan primary feather and tucking it back into the spot where she found it, behind her left ear.
“Would you like to stay for some tea, Rainbow?” Rarity flashed a smile to her friend.
Rainbow remembered she was just about to leave. She needed to clean herself up, and looking at Rarity, she probably wanted to clean up as well. Not to mention, Rainbow hated tea.
"Of course, Rare." She didn't even have to think.