In which Rainbow demonstrates great judgement and planning
"-and that's how Rarity and I started dating!" Rainbow Dash proudly declared, slamming a hoof down on the table. Rarity looked around at the occupants of the table with a nervous smile, the other elements all seated and listening to Rainbow's only slightly embellished story of last night. Truthfully, she would have preferred to wait longer to tell her friends about a new relationship, but Rainbow had been rather insistent and...convincing. And so, here they were, meeting up at her boutique to share the news.
There was a slight nervous tension to the room, but thankfully Twilight broke it before it dragged out too long. "Congratulations, you two." The unicorn smiled warmly at them, as the sentiment was echoed by the others. "But, uhm...wasn't there some kind of rule that says you shouldn't talk to each other for three days or something after the first date?" She questioned, looking between them.
Rarity turned to answer her. "Well, normally-"
"Psh! What a lame rule!" Rainbow Dash snickered. "Like I'm going to let anyone tell me to stay away from my marefriend!"
Rarity rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway as the others chuckled at the speedster's antics. This was part of Rainbow's charm, too, one that she'd learned to enjoy. To be honest, the idea of staying away from Rainbow for three days hadn't been all that appealing anyway.
"But uh, also, I kind of needed to tell you girls something." Rainbow said, suddenly sounding nervous. Rarity blinked, caught off guard by the rare vulnerability in her voice and unsure where this was coming from. She almost sounded...guilty. She listened carefully as Rainbow continued. "I'm dating Rarity now...and so I'm going to be absolutely awesomely one-hundred percent loyal to her."
It was said with such seriousness and conviction that Rarity wanted nothing more then to give her a big hug. But Rainbow wasn't done.
"So...the friendship with benefits thing? The benefits...uh, they stop now, okay?" Rainbow ended, with a guilty awkwardness, looking down at the table between them.
For a second, Rarity was confused. Of course the friendship with benefits thing was over, they were a couple now. Then it hit her.
"I wasn't your only friend with benefits!?" She blurted out, before blushing a deep crimson. After Rainbow had so carefully altered her tale to not suggest they'd already been...together, sort of, before last night! Drat!
"H-hey, we weren't a couple until last night!" Rainbow defended, but she looked away guiltily.
Any embarrassment over her admission faded as she saw Rainbow's expression. "I...you're right. Of course," Rarity said. She truly wasn't upset about that, especially since Rainbow was being responsible and putting a stop to it now that they were a couple. She put a comforting hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "I'm just a little surprised you never boasted about it, that's all."
"Uh...well, you're the one that told me a lady never kisses and tells," Rainbow responded, her nervous expression softening.
"Of course, darling~," Rarity cooed, which seemed to do the trick of reassuring her marefriend. Smiling, she turned back to the table, before remembering why Rainbow had insisted on this meeting. One of her friends had been sleeping with Rainbow, and she'd never suspected a thing. How had Rainbow managed to keep her in the dark?
...Actually, why was Rainbow breaking things off this way? This just let everyone know she had another friend with benefits among the group. Maybe she wanted to put it out in the open with Rarity present, without actually letting Rarity know who it was? Or maybe she thought it would be fun to keep everyone guessing?
Because Rarity was definitely guessing. Despite preaching about relationship privacy, her eyes wandered over her friends, wondering who it could be. She wasn't angry, just curious! Who else had been sampling the Rainbow? Perhaps Applejack, with the help of some cider? Or maybe Twilight had suggested an experiment, or-!
"Um, I understand, Rainbow..." Fluttershy, spoke up softly, a bittersweet smile on her face. "I'll miss our...our..." Her face reddened like a cherry as she seemed to realize what she was admitting. Rainbow face-hoofed.
So much for the guessing game! But still, Fluttershy? How cute! Seeing Fluttershy turning to her nervously, Rarity prepared to comfort the poor mare. She hadn't done anything wrong, after all.
"Me too!" Pinkie suddenly exclaimed. One moment she was on the other side of the round table, and the next she'd zipped right underneath it to hug Dash, wailing with joy and lament at the same time. "Oh Dashie! I'm happy for you but I'll miss our private baking sessions!"
Stunned, Rarity looked on blankly as Rainbow Dash carefully tried to escape Pinkie's grip. "Uh, sorry Pinkie, I'll miss them too?" She said, giving Rarity another nervous glance. Rarity shot her a reassuring smile, even as she reeled in shock mentally. Two? Two!? Rarity could scarcely believe she hadn't seen the signs! Half the elements had slept with her and she'd never noticed!
Her internal meltdown was interrupted as Applejack burst into laugher, pounding on the table. "Haha! No wonder yer always nappin' through the day!" She guffawed. "And here I thought our daily rolls in the hay were wearin' you out!"
There was a sound like broken glass in Rarity's head. Her head automatically turned to the last pony at the table, Twilight, who was looking at Applejack with utter shock. For a moment, Rarity even believed that it meant Twilight was innocent.
"Daily...?" Twilight mumbled, before looking at Rainbow with wide eyes, shouting, "How do you have enough free time to sleep with all us daily!?"
Rarity was only vaguely aware of Rainbow shrugging as she slowly stumbled back, suddenly lightheaded. With a quick burst of magic, her fainting couch was dragged over just in time to catch her as she fell on it. Some would have called it overdramatic, but no, this was a perfectly reasonable amount of dramatic after what she had heard! All of them? Everyday!?
Her thoughts spiraled. No wonder Rainbow Dash had chosen to break things off this way! The impatient speedster probably just didn't want to have to repeat herself four times. Distantly, Rarity heard Applejack saying something about a straight flush, and Pinkie responded with something about how there was nothing straight about this.
Rarity huffed, her head clearing and breathing calming. That was when Rainbow's head popped over the side of the couch, looking down at her worried. "You alright, Rares?" She rasped, still looking nervous.
Allowing herself one final breath, Rarity put on another serene smile and lifted herself up from the couch. "I'm quite alright, dear. This was just a rather...shocking way to learn what you've been up to," She said, calmly. Rainbow was apparently quite a bit sneakier then Rarity had given her credit for.
Rainbow gave her a sheepish smile, before looking at the others. "Yeah...I guess this kind of crashed and burned..."
For a moment, Rarity was tempted to sarcastically ask just what Rainbow had been expecting, but she bit back the urge. One important thing she'd learned in dealing with Rainbow was to give the mare a bit more credit, and with that in mind, she could perhaps understand what Rainbow had been trying to do. Perhaps even appreciate it. If none of them had opened their mouths, then at the very least, Rainbow would have been openly and firmly putting an end to the 'benefits' part of her other friendships, while still keeping those relationships private. A careful balance of open honesty and respectful discretion.
"I was kind of just hoping to get it over with as fast as possible," Rainbow continued.
Rarity facehoofed. She'd pretend she didn't hear that. Maybe Rainbow was just covering up how much she had thought this through. It wouldn't be the first time. Returning to the table, she caught the tail end of the conversation.
Or rather, the end of another nonstop sentence from Pinkie, "-And so we should throw a party because even though it's sad that it's ending at least we all got to share and I think that's really special and we can celebrate good times and-"
Applejack put a hoof on Pinkies shoulder as she cut in. "Sugar, I get what you're sayin', but that's a mighty strange thing to celebrate."
"Um..." At the sound of Fluttershy's voice, Rarity turned to see the shy mare sitting next to her, still blushing and shaking. Oh right, Rarity hadn't had a chance to comfort her. "I'm really, really, sorry, I didn't know-"
"You've done nothing wrong." Rarity reassured her, taking Fluttershy's hooves into her own. It seemed to assure the shy mare, as she finally stopped twitching and relaxed. Turning to check on the others, Rarity noticed a similar tension in everyone else's eyes as well. Well, that would not do. Clearing her throat, she spoke up. "Really, it's okay, girls. Nopony's done anything wrong,"
It seemed that announcement came as a relief to everyone, Rainbow included. With the tension in the room dropping, Rarity took the chance to try to coax the story of how the others got caught up with Rainbow. Though Fluttershy was too nervous to share hers, and Pinkie's made no logical sense, through the others she was able to figure out Rainbow hadn't gone around seducing all of them like they were some matched set to be collected. Things had just happened, and it was her friends who had made the first move. Just like she had.
"Wait, so every one of us independently approached Dash? What are the chances?" Twilight inquired, frowning.
"Higher then you'd think, I reckon." Applejack chuckled, before giving Dash a light punch on the shoulder. "Dash's mane's like an open invitation!"
As Rainbow protested, Twilight looked oddly thoughtful. "I think you might be right!" She said with earnest, switching to what Rainbow would call 'egghead mode'. "Perhaps there's a subconscious-suggestive effect at play here!"
"Uh, could somepony translate?" Rainbow asked, looking around.
"Your mane makes ponies think gay thoughts!" Pinkie cheerfully supplied.
Rainbow sputtered as Twilight nodded. "Exactly! Oh, maybe I should run a study on this! Hey Rainbow, your dad had a prismatic-hued mane too, right? Would you say he gets propositioned to by a higher-then-average number of stallions?"
"I don't know!" Rainbow Dash looked mortified. "I don't wanna know!"
Rarity chuckled, even as she took a backseat in the conversation. It was so strange they could be so open about this, share their stories so freely. Even Fluttershy eventually opened up a bit to quietly share her short but utterly adorable story of how she'd gotten involved with Rainbow. Perhaps it was odder still that Rarity felt happy listening to them. How could she not? Despite it being rather unladylike for Rainbow to have been so...busy, she could see the joy that it had brought to each of her friends.
The joy she was now claiming for herself. Behind their relaxed demeanor, Rarity could see the hints of disappointment in her friends' expressions, like they were saying goodbye to a good friend.
No.
Sometimes, an idea would come to her that would make everything fall into place. The perfect accessory for a hat, the perfect necklace to complement a dress...and now, the perfect thing to say to her friends.
"Ahem." Rarity took advantage of the next lull of the conversation to get everyone's attention, then turned to Rainbow with a smile. "Darling, I would just like to say...that I know I can trust you. Completely and utterly. I know you wouldn't try to hurt me."
Rainbow looked a little confused, but puffed out her chest and pounded a hoof against it proudly. "Yeah, of course! I'll never leave you hanging, Rares."
"I know. You are the element of loyalty, after all." Rarity nodded, before looking at the rest of her friends, who'd fallen silent. "And...I know I can trust the rest of you as well. Your joy is my joy. So...as the element of generosity, I want nothing more then to share my joy."
Confusion colored her friends faces. Confusion, and just the slightest bit of hope. That was all the confirmation she needed.
"So, if Rainbow is okay with it...I have no problems with continuing to share her with all of you." Rarity finished, before pulling Rainbow into a gentle hug.
"Wha- Rares, are you saying-?" Rainbow sputtered, looking at her with wide eyes. Rarity gave her a gentle smile and a nod. "Really- Are you- Are you sure?"
"Yes, dear. I trust you." Rarity confirmed, nuzzling closer.
Pinkie squealed. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! This calls for a PARTY!" She bounced and spun in place, pure excitement rolling off of her.
"Still a might strange thing to celebrate, Pinkie." Applejack grinned. "But heck, I certainly feel like celebrating."
"Oh thank goodness, I had so many more experiments planned," Twilight said, with a light blush.
"W-well, if that's alright with you..." Fluttershy mumbled through a uncontrollable smile.
Rarity closed her eyes as she drew Dash in tighter. Yes, this was it. This was the power of generosity. The sheer happiness of her friends, the once-nervous atmosphere having turned warm and comforting. Or maybe that was Rainbow, relaxing fully into her grip. This was harmony.
Like a well-designed dress, it fit perfectly.
.
.
.
But even the perfect dress was no match for Rainbow Dash.
"Wait, what about everypony else?" Rainbow asked suddenly.
"Everypony...else?" Rarity blinked, not quite following.
"Yeah, my other friends with benefits?"
There was a short pause as everyone took that in.
"There's MORE?" Rarity half-shrieked. Rainbow jerked away to cover her ears as the table was set abuzz.
"Where!?" Twilight shouted, looking at Rainbow like she was insane. "Where do you find enough time in the day for so many ponies!?"
"Wait, it's not like with you guys! They're just like, once or twice a week!" Rainbow protested. Rarity groaned, Rainbow may as well not have said anything, that was already more then plenty of married couples she knew.
"Why...?" Fluttershy interjected, somehow managing to be heard. "A-are we not enough to satisfy you...?"
"N-no! It just...happened, and I didn't want to let anyone down, I didn't want to disappoint anyone by saying no..." Rainbow explained, a little glum.
"How?" Applejack asked next. Okay. Apparently they were following a pattern. That was good to know. "How is it with all this practice you're still such a bad kisser?"
Rainbow squawked, blushing. "I- you!"
"What?" A voice came from the door, and everyone turned to see Spike walking into the boutique. "I heard shouting, what's going on?"
Pinkie shot him an indignant glare. "Didn't you see the story rating!? You're not allowed in here!" She shouted. Spike blinked, and then he was gone.
"Who?" Rarity jumped in at last, fixing Rainbow with a harsh stare. "Who else?"
"I...a lady never kisses and tells...?" Rainbow defended sheepishly.
"At this point, I am trying to figure out if I'm dealing with a lady, or some insatiable beast," Rarity said, her tone making it clear she wasn't in the mood for nonsense. As Rainbow shrunk back though, she sighed. Give Rainbow some credit, she reminded herself. There couldn't be much more to this. "Look, Rainbow, I'm already placing a great deal of trust in you. Please, just tell me who else is involved, so that we may discuss what is to be done. Please, darling?" She asked, softer then before.
Sharing Rainbow with her closest friends was one thing. Perhaps even fated in some way, given that Rainbow was the one who had tied them together with her first rainboom. But if there was anyone else, she'd have to think about what to do on a case-by-case basis. Still, it couldn't be that much more, with how little time Rainbow must have leftover after-
Rainbow put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Well, uh, off the top of my head..."
Oh. Well then. That was not an encouraging start. Wordlessly, Rarity used her magic to drag her fainting couch into position.
"Nurse Redheart, Cherilee, this pegasus named Sunny Skies-"
Her fainting couch was moving, despite her magic trying to hold it in place. Looking up, she saw Twilight's horn glowing, staring at Rainbow in growing shock like everypony else, seemingly unaware she was magically wrestling Rarity's couch away from her. Rarity put more power into her telekinetic hold.
"Cloud Kicker, Aloe, Lotus-"
Twilight wasn't even paying attention to the magical duel and she was winning. Not that Rarity could really focus either, her mind slowly numbing.
"Lyra and Bon Bon at the same time, same thing with Vinyl and Octavia whenever they're around-"
There was a pop as Rarity's couch teleported out of her grip, just in time for Twilight to fall back upon it. Not to faint, but to shout at the ceiling. "It's not possible! How in the world are you finding so much free time!?"
"Uh...I dunno?" Rainbow shrugged. "Last time I was with Ditzy, she said something about trace amounts of time travel?"
Twilight seemed unsure how to respond to that, so Applejack leaned in. "So, sugar, what I'm really wonderin' about here...how in the hay do you have the energy? You should be worn out worse then I was in Applebuck season!"
"Oh, that one's easy." Rainbow scoffed. "Every month I fly out to Canterlot to meet my oldest, uh, benefiter, and she's good at magic and uses this weird spell to-"
"No." Twilight said, the air chilling as she suddenly rose straight off the couch to look at Rainbow with wide, empty eyes. "Please. Please don't tell me you're sleeping with...with Princess Celestia!"
"What!? No!" Rainbow shook her head. "Come on, that's never gonna happen."
Celestia, watching and listening with the help of a magical artifact, let out a disappointed sigh. Unfortunate. Guess she wasn't dropping the Sunny Skies disguise any time soon.
"I mean, I'd love the chance, but she probably has hook-ups with the best of the best, you know? There's no way I'd be enough for her." Rainbow concluded. Twilight sighed with relief, falling back on the couch.
"Guess you'll jus' have to settle with bein' enough for every other mare in Equestria." Applejack said, smiling with sarcasm.
"Wait!" Twilight popped up off the couch again. "It's not Princess Luna either, right!?"
"Oh, her? Nah, I got nothing going on with her." Rainbow waved off.
Luna, watching and listening with the help of a magical artifact, let out a disappointed sigh. She turned up the volume, Celestia was letting out a most schoolfilly-like squeal of joy into a nearby pillow over what Rainbow had said earlier.
Damnations. Did her nightly pitstops in Rainbow's dreams not count? Did she think those moments they shared were purely a creation of her own mind? She'd need to make it clear tonight when Rainbow slept.
"Who is it, then?" Rarity prompted, getting impatient as Twilight let out another relaxed sigh of relief and fall back on the couch.
"Well, I don't know her full name, we just meet at a club and she wears this cool eyemask thing." Rainbow explained. "She calls herself Velvet."
This time, it was Rainbow's head that hit the cushions of Rarity's fainting couch, after Twilight hurled it at her head at 100 km/h.
"Come on Rainbow, best we sort this out sooner rather then later." Rarity called, stepping outside the boutique. Rainbow followed soon after, an ice pack held over her swollen and blackened eye. "We can sort things out with Redheart while we get that checked out."
"Ah, jeez. It's gonna take forever to talk to everypony..." Rainbow whined, already more concerned about the task ahead of them then her injury. She closed the door, shutting out the last of Twilight's apologies. Poor unicorn had only meant to throw one of the pillows.
"I must say, you brought this upon yourself." Rarity huffed as she started down the road. "Come now."
"Yes, mistress." Rainbow shot back sarcastically, but followed.
Rarity smiled as she looked around. It really was a nice day. In the distance, she managed to spot her little sister and her friends seeming to be hiding in a nearby bush, seeming to be in the middle of discussing something. She strained her ears to listen, hoping to be ready for the next hare-brained scheme-
"Cutie Mark Crusaders Domestic Abuse Reporters!"
Rarity's blood turned to ice. Oh no.
Gasping, Rarity woke up in her bed, quickly pushing herself up. Just a dream. The moon was still high in the sky.
Rainbow Dash stirred awake next to her. "Huh? What's wrong? Nightmare?"
"Oh, nothing, dear. Just a dream." Rarity caught her breath. "Just about what happened yesterday..."
Next to her, Pinky suddenly stirred and sat up. "Wait, so it was all just a dream, but then it really did happen anyway? What's the point of this scene!?"