Color of Loyalty

by DouglasTrotter

Rating: everyone
Tags: Random, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Rarity
Length: 1195

Rarity and Rainbow Dash help each other out for a day.

"Quid Pro Quo," the unicorn said to her friend before they both "shook" on it, much to the dismay of the suave mare. With Rainbow Dash's chores done, it's time for her to repay the favor to Rarity.

Published 2014-02-14 05:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-02-14 05:50:02 UTC

Sparking an Idea

“Ok. That’s it. I quit,” the athletic pony said in a huff. Rainbow Dash reached into her saddlebag, pulled out ten bits, and tossed them on her friend’s wooden desk. “I wanted to save some bits, but this is ridiculous. I’ll just pay for it.”

A candle, having burned half-way down from when she lit it at six o’clock sharp, sat on Rarity’s wooden desk in its opulent holder. From the grand designs of Las Pegasus and Manehatten, intricate details for the buffalo tribe in the Equestrian desert, all the way to the premier of Princess Luna’s Shooting Star Dance, Rarity could feel her eye twitch at the mere thoughts of that one word: disappointment. In a strained tone, the mare said, “Rainbow Dash, sweetie, darling, you agreed to a deal. I helped you out and practically traded places with you for today when I corralled those clouds in one spot. Now, now it’s your turn to assist me in helping to make these dresses. A deal is a deal. To think you even had me, ‘ick,’ shake on it like you do with Applejack. Where’s your loyalty?”

A pile of color swatch patterns lay on several mannequins surrounded both mares in the room, along with several half finished dresses and embroidered emblems. With the curtains closed, the light from the candle on Rarity’s desk sparsely touched the room’s darkness. A quick grumble reverberated in the room as Rainbow Dash soon planted her two hooves to her face and dragged them down.

“This is SOOOO boring! I just needed you to grab and hold the clouds for a second. Also, I just asked for one tiny thing extra to showcase the awesomeness of ‘yours truly’ to the crowd at the Equestrian Games. I didn’t realize I would be agreeing to help you make all these, these, these ‘things’ and—‘

“Rainbow Dash, how dare you! My creations aren’t ‘things’ or along the lines of such commonness. I put my very essence into each and every item I create. They are part of who I am as a ‘créateur suprême de la mode’ in Equestria. I cannot and will not allow such crimes against fashion to be committed. Now, take. That. Back.” Rarity said as she interrupted her pegasus friend, pressing her hoof against Rainbow Dash’s chest. “My creations aren’t things.” Rarity said as her eyes widened at her friend.

The athletic pony pointed towards the corner and said, “Yea, your ‘essence’ is flowing into every one of these half finished dresses.”

“Look, I just need that little bit of imagination. I can’t allow these things to be ‘common’ or any such atrocity.” Rarity said with a quick retort as she turned towards her desk, picking up her charcoal pencil to outline a new design. “I just need that spark of sorts. It’s there! I can feel it.”

“Fine, ok, I’m sorry. It’s just that this is WAY too boring. And, it is out of my league. There, I said it,” Rainbow Dash turned away from her friend and walked towards the door, her head hanging low towards the ground. “I don’t want to betray you. We may not get along, but we are friends. I can really damage your business, ya know. I’m not ‘gifted’ with a sense of fashion. That’s not who I am.”

The suave unicorn got off of her soft, lace lined pillow that sat near her desk, walked towards her friend, and placed her manicured hoof on the skyblue mare’s side. The light from the candle reflected off of Rarity’s eyes as she looked at her friend and said, “Look, I’m not expecting you to create a line of fashion out of thin air and display it for all of Equestria to see. I need your help just as you needed mine. A deal is a deal, and I expect great things from this line.”

In a smooth, swift motion of her wing, indicative of her prowess as an aerial ace, Rainbow Dash moved the hopeful fashionista’s hoof off of her side and looked at the ground. The mare uttered an almost inaudible “I can’t” before she closed the door behind her, leaving Rarity in her room to herself.

“I can’t make fashion. I’m not a mare who knows about ‘frilly’ things. What do ponies even see in those things?” The athletic pony said to herself under a hushed breath outside Rarity’s door. “I don’t know about this stuff.”

Rarity’s new found silence was interrupted before she could sit down on her pillow. The suave unicorn levitated the candle holder close to her and opened the curtains to see Rainbow Dash floating outside her window. Before the mare could shoo her friend away, the athletic pony blew out the candle and grabbed her friend.

A cool, crisp wind rushed past the pony’s faces as they flew into the night. In a calm voice, Rainbow said to her friend, “You need inspiration, here’s your inspiration. O, and you might want to cast that spell on your hooves that Twilight taught you in order to walk on clouds.”

After she cast the spell, the mare felt her hooves touch down on the fluffy cloud beneath her. She opened her eyes to see the ground illuminated by the brilliant light of the full moon. Her eye stopped twitching, her mane smoothed out, and her neck relaxed as a gentle breeze wafted through her luxuriously styled mane.

“This is my ‘private’ spot to come and think. I’m not into frilly stuff, fashion, or anything along those lines, but I do know when a pony needs to relax. Especially when a friend is in need of some help,” Rainbow said with a quick grin and a sly wink to her friend off to her left side.

“Ok, I’ll admit it. Thank you for the time up here. Yes… yes, that’s it! Serenity! Ooo, that’s the perfect name of my new line of clothing. Princess Luna needs starry designs, the buffalo strong yet peaceful elegance to their new clothing, and the Las Pegasus and Manehatten designs could go for a combination of the two to create several new lines.” Rarity said as she tapped her hoof against her chin. “Thankyou Rainbow Dash, here are your 10 bits. This will more than cover our little excursion. Now, if you would be so polite, GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!”

The skyblue mare snickered to herself before she grabbed her friend and flew Rarity back to her room. With the candle lit once more, Rainbow Dash said, “Ok Ms. Fashionista, I’ll get you what you need. Just tell me where to go. I’m not modeling or anything though.”

Time passed with Rarity asking asked her friend for swatch after swatch and fabric roll after fabric roll. The hands on the clock moved just as smooth and swiftly as Rainbow Dash, and, with the task completed, Rarity flopped onto her bed and Rainbow Dash on the downstairs couch. Throughout the hopeful fashionista’s house, the clock’s chime hit the eighth note as the sun rose and the United Stallion Express Delivery pony took the packages for their respective deliveries.