Kaleidoscope

by Winston

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Rarity
Length: 5965

Losing hold of the past can create a lot of uncertainty about the future. Sometimes only a true friend can help find it again.

Thanks to a newly found common interest, Rainbow Dash and Rarity seem to be getting along great—right up until they have a very sudden, and very hurtful, falling out.

But Rainbow Dash thinks that maybe there's more going on than it looks like on the surface. Could an old toy be the key to unlocking the solution to a serious problem?

Pre-read / proofread by Georg and Lazy Gray.

Entry for Scribblefest 2016

Published 2016-03-05 21:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-05 21:30:01 UTC

A Cluster of Colors Entwined

Kaleidoscope
by Winston

“Hey Twilight, check this thing out!” Rainbow Dash called from above the Rainbow Falls trader’s exchange. She did a quick loop in mid-air and plunged down to a perfect four-hoof landing right in front of Princess Twilight Sparkle's startled nose, stopping her in her tracks.

Twilight took a moment to smooth her mane and feathers, ruffled from the wind shear of the sudden landing. “Find something good, Rainbow?”

“I sure did!” Rainbow Dash nodded and pulled a narrow round tube with a short, slightly wider free-spinning cylinder attached to it out of her saddlebag. The whole thing was covered in a colorful red pattern. “It’s awesome. Try it.”

Twilight took the device and examined it. There was a lens on the end of the tube, so she held it up to one eye and looked inside. “Oh! Pretty. It’s a kaleidoscope.” She slowly turned the cylinder. “Where’d you get this?”

“Somepony with a bunch of random old stuff.” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof at a group of stands. “It caught my eye, so I made an offer for it.”

“Interesting,” Twilight said, turning the kaleidoscope around in the air. “What made it stand out?”

“I dunno.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I guess mostly ‘cause I haven’t seen one of these in years. I used to have one just like it, though. My dad gave it to me when I was a little filly in Cloudsdale.”

“Ahh, nostalgia.” Twilight nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Hey, you know all about sciency-type stuff,” Rainbow said. “How does it work? I never really understood when I was little.”

“Oh. Well...” Twilight lit her horn and magically conjured a diagram of the device in the air. “Kaleidoscopes have mirrors inside aligned to cause multiple reflections of light coming in through one end. Judging by the six-pointed radially symmetrical image, I think this one has two mirrors angled at thirty degrees apart, reflecting some beads tumbling around inside the cylinder on the end. As far as, uhh... ‘sciency stuff’, sometimes they have applications in optics experiments, but I think this one’s really just a toy.”

“Well, whatever it is, it’s pretty cool,” Rainbow Dash said. “Just look at all those crazy colors and shapes.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Twilight looked at Rainbow with a teasing smirk. “You didn’t trade away any of our friends for it, though, did you?”

Rainbow laughed and shook her head. “Nah, not this year. I had an extra copy of a Daring Do book I’ve been meaning to swap for a while now, so I brought that instead.”

“Well, as long as you’re happy with your trade, I’m happy for you,” Twilight said.

“So awesome!” Rainbow Dash was already looking through her kaleidoscope again with a grin on her face, slowly spinning the cylinder and watching an ever-changing menagerie of color and form that she hadn’t seen since she was a filly.

✽ ✶ ＊ ✲ ✼ ✻

When Rainbow Dash pushed open the door of the Carousel Boutique, the little bell hanging over it rang with a gentle, silvery sound. Hoofsteps start moving toward the main showroom in response, and a moment later Rarity appeared.

“Ah, hello Rainbow Dash,” Rarity greeted her. “Glad to see you.”

“What’s up, Rare? Somepony said you wanted me to drop by?”

“Yes.” Rarity nodded. “Please, come in. Would you like a drink?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Rainbow Dash walked a little further into the boutique. “What’d you need?”

“Welllll, you see, I’m in a bind,” Rarity began. “I have an important special order, and I need a pegasus of your size—that is, somepony with your kind of compact, athletic build—to model a dress for me so that I can make sure everything about it is just so. I hate to ask this, but I couldn’t help noticing my client’s measurements were practically the same as yours, so... it was really the obvious solution.”

“Uh huh.” Rainbow Dash’s voice was flat.

“Now, I know clothes and fashion may not be your... umm... favorite thing, but you could spare just a little while to help a friend, couldn’t you?” Rarity put on her best pleading-for-a-favor face. “Please?”

Before Rainbow Dash could look away, it was too late: The Eyes were in play. When Rarity asked for things like this, it was her eyes that really sealed the deal. How does she do that? Rainbow Dash never understood. Those eyes were no bigger than anypony else’s, but somehow, when Rarity wanted something, they turned into these huge, crystal-sparkling, impossibly deep blue sapphire oceans, underneath long, perfect lashes that batted every few seconds. It was a trap, and once a pony fell in, there was no escape.

“Fine.” Rainbow Dash huffed, rolling her own eyes. It wasn’t fair. Those things should have a warning label, or something. Caution: Direct eye contact may result in exposure to boring fru-fru girly stuff.

“Wonderful!” Rarity beamed. “Right this way, please.”

Rarity ushered Rainbow Dash over to one side of the studio, where a dress was draped across the back of a ponnequen near some tall mirrors. Rarity positioned her by the mirrors, then gave her the dress to put on.

While she was getting into it, Rainbow Dash noticed it was... it was... well, ordinary, was about all she could think to describe it. Too ordinary, really. All the fabric was the exact same color, sort of an understated dark red. The dress’s form was also simple: a bodice that covered the barrel, and a skirt, long and flowing but not extravagant. There wasn’t much else to it.

“Isn’t this design kinda... well, boring?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking herself over in the mirrors.

“Whatever do you mean?” Rarity asked.

“It just feels like...” Rainbow cocked her head. “Y’know, like, something’s missing.”

“Something like what?”

“I don’t know.” Rainbow shrugged. “Just something.”

“Rainbow, dear, if you’re about to say it needs to be, ah, ‘twenty percent cooler,’ let me remind you how well that went last time.”

“Alright, alright,” Rainbow mumbled. “You’re the fashionawhatsit.”

“Fashionista?” Rarity had a small smile while she took in some loose fabric on the side of the dress. “So I’ve been called on occasion.”

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash made sure to hold still while Rarity worked. This part made her nervous. Rarity was doing something with a pincushion, and she really wasn’t a fan of surprise pin sticks.

A few minutes passed while Rarity made adjustments, humming to herself quietly. It stretched on to ten minutes, then fifteen. Rainbow Dash, predictably, was getting very bored. Her attention wandered and took her eyes with it, roaming around the boutique and over Rarity’s many creations on display.

Looking at them, she couldn’t shake a funny feeling... something was off. Something was missing. A lot of what she was seeing was just like what she was wearing. There were too many plain, solid colors, too many simple designs. Not that she knew much about fashion, but it felt less like the Carousel Boutique she remembered and more like a regular clothes shop.

“Rarity, what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Is everything alright around here?”

“I beg your pardon?” Rarity stopped working for a moment and looked up.

“The dresses, Rarity.” Rainbow Dash kept looking around. “They’re not like they used to be.”

“And how did they ‘used to be’?” Rarity asked.

“More like... uhh...” Rainbow Dash pointed to a gown, one of the few standing out from the others on a nearby rack. “More like that one.”

“This?” Rarity lifted it in her pale blue magical field and brought it closer. “Yes. This is one of my older pieces, but it is nice, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s more like what I’m used to seeing you make,” Rainbow said. “The pink and the green really go good together. They really work.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah?” Rainbow Dash looked at Rarity. She hated questions like this. It was hard to tell if Rarity was fishing for a compliment or saying she was wrong. “I mean, they do, don’t they?”

“They are complementary colors, yes,” Rarity said.

“Wouldn’t really go with my blue coat, though.”

“No, I would say not.” Rarity shook her head. “This piece is really meant for a pony with a yellow or orange complexion.”

“Yeah, that’d probably work a lot better,” Rainbow Dash agreed. She could see it on somepony like Applejack. Actually, thinking about it, she was pretty sure she had seen this one on Applejack—or ‘Applejewel’—during the Ponyville Days festival.

“I didn’t know you were into color theory,” Rarity remarked, while she continued to work.

The comment surprised Rainbow Dash, because as far as she knew, she wasn’t. ‘Color theory?’ Was she into that? She thought about it and it seemed like a weird idea—colors weren’t a theory, they were a fact, right there in front of her. No question about it. Anypony could see them. Well, except maybe ponies who were colorblind. She’d never met a pony who was, but she’d heard they existed. Maybe to them colors were just a theory. Not her, though. She saw them just fine.

And anyway, she wasn’t talking about some fancy theory. She just knew what she liked.

“Well, I like it when these colors are together,” Rainbow Dash said. “I never thought about it before, but... you know... they just look good with each other, I guess.”

“They do, don’t they?” Rarity nodded, smiling fondly at the dress.

“You should make more like this,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Hmm. We’ll see. But what do you think about... oh, where is it... this one?” Rarity pulled out another dress that looked to Rainbow Dash like one of her more usual designs, elaborate and spectacular, this time in light blue and lavender.

“It’s also good,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “You know, though, it’s kind of funny. Why do some colors go together but other combinations are just ugly?”

Rarity answered her question by showing Rainbow Dash something called a color wheel—which looked kind of like the chromatic shockwave of a sonic rainboom, so she thought that was pretty cool—and explaining how it was usually colors on opposite sides or at the points of equilateral triangles which went together.

They kept talking about things like how some colors were better for accents, and cool versus warm colors, and Rainbow Dash realized something that surprised her: for once, having a conversation with Rarity was actually getting interesting. It made the rest of the time she spent modelling turn out to not really be so bad after all.

Well, except maybe the pin sticks. Those were still the worst thing ever, but there weren’t many, and on this new common ground, even those could be forgiven. Maybe Rarity was pretty cool to hang out with after all. Huh. Who knew?

✻ ✽ ✶ ＊ ✲ ✼

“Returning that?” Spike asked. “I’ll take it, if you are.”

“Thanks, Spike. Here ya go.” Rainbow Dash hoofed over the book she was carrying. “Hey, where’s Twilight? As long as I’m here anyway, I think I’ll drop in and say hi.”

“Over in the map room.” Spike thumbed toward the hallway. “Have fun.”

“Will do, little guy.”

Rainbow Dash left the library and headed down the main hall of the tree palace. When she reached the door to the map room, she found it cracked open just a little, barely enough to hear somepony speaking. The words were indistinct, but she could tell it was Twilight.

Rainbow Dash was about to knock and go inside, but before she could, another voice came through.

“Yes, she showed up at the boutique yesterday.” It was Rarity.

Rainbow Dash paused and stood still. She told herself to just go in, because she shouldn’t snoop, but hesitated for a moment because she also couldn’t help wondering if her friends were talking about her. With that thought, temptation managed to get the upper hoof. What harm could it do to listen, really? Just a little bit of basking in what were sure to be her praises never hurt anypony, did it?

Nah. Of course not.

“Well, I’ll tell you how it went... it was a disaster. There’s no other way to say it,” Rarity continued.

Wait, what? Disaster? Me? What’d I do? Rainbow's eyes shot open in surprise and she flattened her ears. That wasn’t how she remembered things.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight sympathized. “I know it must be tough.”

“‘Tough’ doesn’t even begin, Twilight, not with her,” Rarity groused. “I don’t want to fail just because other ponies have terrible taste.”

Terrible taste? What the hay?

“It can’t be that bad. I’m sure that with some patience, she’ll come around,” Twilight said.

Come around? Why do I need to ‘come around’? A sinking sensation rolled through Rainbow’s stomach.

“Will she?” Rarity asked, her voice heavy with sarcasm. “Of all the boorish, rude, uncultured—” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Twilight. This isn’t your problem, is it? Forgive me. Here I am, going on and on about it and being terribly rude myself, aren’t I? I suppose it rubs off, I regret to say.”

“Look, don’t worry about it. Really.”

Don’t worry? About what she just said!? Rainbow clenched her jaw, suddenly feeling like the hallway was too warm.

“Thank you for your forbearance.” Rarity sighed. “But regardless, I should try to remain ladylike, even if some other ponies can’t be bothered with things like basic manners.”

The hallway was getting hotter.

“You’re just frustrated, Rarity. It’s alright. Sometimes if you just let it out, you’ll feel better.”

You’re actually encouraging her, Twilight? Some friends you are!

“True,” Rarity said. “As long as it’s kept where it won’t hurt anypony, I suppose indulging an impulsive fantasy to tell off a crude brute is fine once in awhile.”

That was enough. “Oh it is, is it?” Rainbow Dash flung open the door and stormed in, fire in her eyes. She’d reached her boiling point and decided that, by Celestia, it was time to let it spill over, because somepony in there was due for a scalding.

“Rainbow!” Rarity’s voice was shrill with surprise. “Wha— I didn’t know you were here.” She stared with a blank look.

“Yeah, obviously not.”

“You— you just— surprised me.” Rarity’s tongue tripped over the words. “I— we were— that is, I was just saying, that, ahh...”

“Oh, sorry, I shouldn’t interrupt, should I?” Rainbow Dash mocked in a dramatic voice while she stalked toward Rarity. “After all, there’s nothing quite as classy as trash-talking about somepony behind her back, IS THERE?!”

Twilight cleared her throat. “Uhh, Rainbow—”

“Right when I was starting to think maybe you were actually pretty cool, too.” Rainbow Dash was still advancing on Rarity. “Seemed like it yesterday, but I guess I was wrong. Somepony does you a favor, and this is how they get treated?” Rainbow got right in Rarity’s face, almost bumping muzzles. “That’s pretty much the complete opposite of cool.”

“I...” Rarity took a step backward in retreat. She shook her head weakly and raised one foreleg, holding it folded against her chest as if to protect herself. “I— I didn’t mean to— to—”

“A little late now to ‘not mean it’, Rare,” Rainbow Dash snarled. “Even I’ve heard the one about how ‘if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.’ You wanna be more ladylike or whatever? Maybe start by knowing when to muzzle it.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled and stomped a hoof against the hard crystal floor, sending a sharp cracking sound reverberating through the room.

Rarity’s mouth opened and closed. Her jaw quivered and her eyes were watering. “I think that— that I’d better be going!” she struggled through a shaking voice. “Yes, I really have to go! Now!”

Before anypony could do anything, she bolted, galloping out of the room and down the hall toward the exit. Quiet, half-suppressed sobs drifted in her wake.

“Yeah, that’s right, run away!” Rainbow Dash called after her.

The fast-paced clop of racing hooves faded off with distance, followed by the faint sound of the palace’s front entry opening and shutting, then nothing. Rainbow Dash stood watching the empty doorway Rarity had fled through.

The heat she felt under her skin slowly started to cool and her hammering heart slowed. As her temper died down, she gradually became aware of Twilight’s stare boring into her. It started getting uncomfortable, so she chanced a glance at the princess.

She saw angry purple eyes.

It gave her pause. Only then did Rainbow Dash step back and weigh out the whole situation. When she did, it started to occur to her that, to somepony watching, this would have looked like a pretty epic blow-up. In fact, it might have even been just the slightest, tiniest bit of an over-reaction, with the way Rarity was left speechless, and embarrassed, and... ran out of the room... crying...

Uh oh.

Did she screw up? She was beginning to think she might have screwed up.

Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat, loudly.

Any warmth still left from the wrath Rainbow had felt suddenly turned cold, doused by sobering hindsight hitting her like a cloud full of hailstones. Her face fell while she turned slowly to face the music.

And the music was certainly waiting for her. “Rainbow, what in the hay did you think you were doing?” Twilight demanded. She started pacing and her voice had an edge of severity in it that didn’t bode well.

They stared at each other for several long seconds.

“She started it,” Rainbow Dash said quietly.

Twilight stared daggers at her even harder.

“Well, you heard what she was saying about me.” Rainbow Dash shrank back as the words came out half-hearted and weak. “I mean, am I supposed to not defend myself? I just—”

“Wait, wait, hold on.” Twilight held up one foreleg and shook her head. “You know Rarity wasn’t talking about you, right?”

Heavy silence filled the room while Rainbow Dash processed. She had, in fact, not considered this. In new light, everything suddenly shifted around in her head and made a lot more sense. It left her feeling pretty dumb, too, which she supposed she deserved.

“Uhh... no?”

“No,” Twilight confirmed. “She wasn’t.”

“Then who?”

“Her big client,” Twilight said. “Rarity was here asking me for advice, Rainbow. Apparently, her client is finicky, rude, and impossible to please. She stopped by the boutique to pick up her dress yesterday, after you left—the dress you helped work on—and basically ended up telling Rarity how much she hated it and to start over. Not in a very nice way, either.”

“Oh.” Rainbow slumped to a sitting position and stared at her hooves. “So that’s...”

“Yeah.”

“...I guess she didn’t need this from me on top of everything else, huh?” Rainbow fidgeted, scuffing a front hoof in little circles across the smooth floor.

“Nope.” Twilight shook her head. “Especially not now. Not with—” She cut herself off, looking away suddenly.

“Not with what?”

“I probably shouldn’t say, actually.”

“There’s something else going on with Rarity, isn’t there?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It’s Rarity’s business for her to tell you about things if she decides she wants to. But that’s the least of your worries, because right now, it’s the other way around. You’re the one who needs to say something to her, don’t you think?”

Rainbow thought for a moment. “Umm, the hugest apology ever?” she guessed. “...The kind you have to spend bits on?” She winced.

“A sincere apology is more important than a pricey one.” Twilight took a deep breath. “Although, if I were you, I wouldn’t even try yet. I know you, and we both know Rarity.”

“Guess we could both use some time to cool down first, huh?”

“I think that might be best. In the meanwhile, you’d better think carefully about what you’re going to say.”

“Alright, yeah.” Rainbow nodded glumly.

“You might also be right, though,” Twilight said. “When you are ready, a peace offering wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

✼ ✻ ✽ ✶ ＊ ✲

Peace offerings were expensive, it turned out. Rainbow Dash’s first stop was Sugarcube Corner to consult Pinkie Pie, who directed her to a special selection of super-fancy chocolates that she said she knew for a fact Rarity was “cuh-razy about.” Some of them had fillings Rainbow Dash had never even heard of, which made her a little suspicious. They must have been darned good, though, because a box of them cost no less than sixty bits.

Pinkie also suggested flowers would go well with it... some nice white roses, maybe.

“Why do I need flowers?” Rainbow Dash griped. “I want to apologize, not get her to go on a date with me.”

“Silly Dashie.” Pinkie Pie giggled. “I know. That’s why I said white. If you want a date, it’s red roses.”

Apparently, there was a color code to these things. Finding herself at Roseluck’s flower stand, she also learned that it was surprisingly complicated. There were as many colors of roses as there were colors in her own mane and then some, and they all said something different. Eventually, with some guidance, she settled on a bouquet of fancy long-stemmed roses in a combination of white, yellow, and pale pink. For another thirty bits, she really hoped they said the right thing. Roseluck proclaimed it was sure-fire that they would, but also that there were no refunds.

And so, with the items carefully wrapped to keep them presentable, she knocked on the door of the Carousel Boutique.

She listened nervously to the sounds of approaching hoofsteps.

The door creaked open partway, with Rarity peering around it to see who it was. She was a rough sight. Her mane was frazzled, her eyes were bloodshot, and her red work glasses were perched askew on her muzzle.

“Oh. Rainbow.” Rarity scowled at her through the doorway. “This had better be important. I’m very busy.”

“It is!” Rainbow cried, louder than she’d intended. She lowered her voice. “It’s, like, the most important thing.”

“I very much doubt that.” Rarity’s voice was cold.

“I’m serious,” Rainbow Dash insisted. “Can I just... come in? For two seconds?”

Rarity just gave her an icy stare over the top of her glasses.

“Please?”

After a silent pause that dragged on forever, Rarity reluctantly opened the door and shuffled to one side.

“Thanks.” Rainbow Dash entered. Rarity left the door open behind her.

“Now, what did you want in your two seconds, Miss Dash?” Rarity asked. Her hard look made Rainbow Dash think that she might actually be held to that exact time limit.

“I’m sorry,” Rainbow said quickly. “I screwed up, and I was stupid, and I’m really, really sorry.” She hung her head.

Rarity’s stony face softened, just barely. “Well, I must admit that for such a short time, you’ve made good use of it. I suppose it’s a start.”

“Also, I brought you these.” Rainbow Dash fumbled momentarily with unwrapping the box of candy and the flowers, then held them out to Rarity once she’d succeeded.

Rarity looked surprised. “For me?”

“Yeah.” Rainbow nodded. “I’m not good at, you know, words and stuff. Not like you, and not like Twilight. But I mean it. I’m really sorry, and I was hoping I could find something to show you how much I am, in case I just screw up with words all over again. Words get me in trouble sometimes. It was really dumb and foalish of me to say what I did yesterday.”

“It did hurt quite a bit, Rainbow,” Rarity said. “It still does, a little, truth be told.”

“I know, and it’s all my fault,” Rainbow Dash said. “Twilight told me about your client from Tartarus after you left. I didn’t know at the time. I rushed in and acted like an idiot because I thought you were talking about me.”

“What?” Rarity gave Rainbow Dash a puzzled look. “Why in Equestria did you think I would say those things about you?”

“I wasn’t thinking.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “That was the problem.”

“Hmmm. Perhaps not.”

“Definitely not.” Rainbow Dash shook her head.

“You were thinking when you chose these gifts, however, and I have to give you credit for it,” Rarity said. “They’re very sweet, and I appreciate that you think so highly of me.”

“Well, it did take a lot of thought to pick out the roses,” Rainbow said. “Turns out, there’s this whole... thing... to ‘em. Roseluck explained. White is, uh, humility, and yellow means friendship, and pink is supposed to be for appreciation. So I guess those are kinda what I’m trying to say here. Plus, these colors look good together, so what the hay.”

“They are quite fetching,” Rarity agreed.

“So, are we still friends?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t quite look Rarity in the eyes.

“Oh, Rainbow...” Rarity set aside the box of candy and the flowers, and wrapped Rainbow Dash in a hug. “Of course we are. We may be very different ponies, but we’ve been friends for a long time, and I don’t want that to be over because of something so silly.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Rainbow Dash returned the hug. “Thanks, Rares.”

“What a ridiculous misunderstanding. Let’s never do this again.”

“You said it!” Rainbow Dash laughed.

Rarity took a deep breath. “Well, I’m glad we’ve cleared this up.” She sighed. “If only my other problems at the moment could be resolved so amicably. I’m afraid I really am very busy. This dress order is making my life miserable. You see the state I’m in.” She gestured to her disheveled mane.

“Speaking of which, can I ask you something, Rarity?”

“What about?”

“About the dresses you’ve been making.” Rainbow Dash looked around. “Or... I don’t know, I guess maybe it’s about them. They’re just... plain. They’re not like you, or at least the you that I know. Maybe it’s not just the dresses. I feel like something’s off, but I don’t know what. It’s kinda worrying me. Sorry, I don’t know how else to explain it. I asked Twilight, and she let it slip that maybe there was something going on, but she wouldn’t say.”

Rarity closed her eyes, almost as if in pain, and turned away. “You’re right, Rainbow. I hate to say it, but, you’re right, and I’m tired of hiding, so I might as well just tell you. I’m afraid that I’ve been losing my touch. It’s been crumbling for some time now.”

“Huh? What happened?”

“I don’t know.” Rarity shook her head. “Maybe I’m burned out. Maybe I’ve just overextended myself. It happens so easily sometimes, before I even realize it. I’ve always recovered before, but now it feels different. I’m uninspired. I either hate all my ideas, or I just don’t have any to begin with. And you’re right, my work has lost its luster. It’s my fault I’ve let it. I tried so hard, but I’m exhausted, Rainbow. I’ve been angry, I’ve lashed out, I’ve blamed other ponies—you overheard that—but the truth is, it’s me. I’m failing as a fashionista. I’ve just been too scared to tell anypony.”

She walked over to a couch and flopped down tiredly. “And do you know what the worst part is?”

“What could be worse than that?”

“I’m sputtering out into a hack,” Rarity said balefully. “I didn’t even know when to bow out with dignity. You see, there was a wave of a simple but elegant new style in Canterlot not long ago, about when this started, and I thought I could use it as cover until more elaborate inspirations came to me again. But they haven’t, and as it turned out, I couldn’t even get simple elegance right. Just look around, you’ve already noticed the result. All these dresses—simple, yes, but no style, no elegance. As you pointed out, just... Plain. Boring. Pedestrian. Common. And now that seems to be all I can do.”

“That’s why you’re in trouble with this bigshot client?”

“I thought a high-profile commission would rebuild the fire,” Rarity said. “I thought the thrill of a big name, a high stakes project, would bring back what I’d forgotten. I was wrong. Now I’m going to pay the price. When I fail to deliver, the value of my name is going to bottom out. It’s over. I’m over. It’s just a matter of time.”

Rainbow Dash paced around in random circles, agitated. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Rarity, the fashion fixture of Ponyville? Washed up? Finished? Had she really lost—

Rainbow Dash stopped suddenly and her eyes went wide.

“No.” She shook her head. “Maybe you’re not quite done yet.”

“Meaning what?” Rarity asked.

“Meaning I just realized I have something more important than chocolate or flowers,” Rainbow Dash said. “Just give me a few minutes and I’ll be right back.”

“Rainbow? What are—”

But Rainbow Dash was already out the door and in the air, speeding toward her cloud house as fast as her wings would carry her.

✲ ✼ ✻ ✽ ✶ ＊

A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash opened the door of the boutique and strode in purposefully, the little bell overhead ringing its familiar ring.

“Rainbow?” Rarity’s voice called from her workroom. “Is that you again?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t answer right away. Instead, she walked over to the workroom and stood in the doorway. “Rarity...” She puffed out her chest and raised one foreleg, posing heroically. “We’ve got a dress to make!”

“Beg pardon?” Rarity stared at Rainbow Dash in bewilderment.

“I said, we have a dress to make,” Rainbow Dash repeated. “And I’ve got just the tool you need.” She opened her saddlebag and pulled out her kaleidoscope. “Here.”

Rarity took it and looked into it. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “But, forgive me, I’m not sure how it helps.”

“It’s not just beautiful,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s special. Every picture it creates is a one-of-a-kind, like your dresses.”

Rarity kept turning the kaleidoscope.

“Back when I was a filly, I had one of these,” Rainbow Dash continued. “But I also had motivation problems, too. See, I got my cutie mark when I did my first sonic rainboom. That’s when I found out what I loved most—flying, and flying fast. The thing was, though, for a long time, I couldn’t do a sonic rainboom again. The longer I couldn’t, the more I thought I never would. After a while, that really dragged me down. A lot of times I thought there was just no point, because, you know, how do you ever top that?”

“I can see your predicament,” Rarity said.

“Some days I felt like giving up, but every time I looked through my kaleidoscope, I saw this crazy burst of colors, and it reminded me of that first rainboom,” Rainbow Dash said. “When I saw it, I always felt like, somehow, I’d do it again, if I just kept trying. That kaleidoscope kept me going. I didn’t realize how much until it was gone.”

“Oh? What happened to it?”

“Not sure.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I guess I lost track of it somewhere. At the time, I figured, it just was an old toy. Didn’t think twice about it, really. But when I started to forget what it showed me, I lost something important. I mean, obviously, losing a kaleidoscope wasn’t my only problem, or the biggest one, but it sure didn’t help. My motivation and my attitude kept getting worse. It was so bad I even got kicked out of flight school. Me! How messed up is that?”

Rarity thought about it. “About as messed up as I feel right now.”

“Exactly.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “But no matter what, wanting to fly was part of me that never completely went away, and the other day, when I was here, you were all excited when we were talking about that color theory stuff. That’s how I know there’s still something there in you, too. Remember when fashion was fun? Do you remember why you started?”

“You’re right,” Rarity admitted. “I’ve lost sight of that. But how do I get it back? I’m scared I don’t even know anymore.”

“It sounds like you need some inspiration. I think there might be some in there, if you look for it.” Rainbow Dash pointed at the kaleidoscope.

“I don’t know, Rainbow.” Rarity shook her head. “Every time I try lately, I only end up hating what I come up with.”

“You just need one idea, right?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Maybe just one good color combination, or a shape, or whatever. There’s plenty of those. Maybe you just have to take what you can see and run with it, you know? Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’ll do it together. It’ll be great, I promise.”

Rarity spun the kaleidoscope for a few moments, then stopped. “Oh. Oh, how interesting. I do think I see something. Well, I suppose that’s worth a shot if anything is.” She stood up. “Maybe, if I have the right fabrics... let’s just check the storeroom...”

＊ ✲ ✼ ✻ ✽ ✶

Five hours, an empty box of super-fancy chocolates, and a few bottles of cider later, Rarity and Rainbow Dash stood in front of the same set of mirrors they had the other day. Rainbow was wearing a spectacular new dress. Rarity was wearing a pincushion strapped to her foreleg and a tape measure draped loosely around her neck. Her mane was more frazzled than ever, but her glasses were on straight and a proud smile made her face shine like the sun.

“That’s more like it,” Rainbow Dash said, nodding at the mirror in satisfaction.

“Oh, indeed,” Rarity sighed. “It still needs the little finishing touches, but the big picture is really there. I can see it again. I can’t thank you enough, Rainbow Dash. You and your kaleidoscope. Who would have thought?”

Rainbow Dash walked over to a messy table where the kaleidoscope… her kaleidoscope... was resting among fabric scraps left over from the recent flurry of enthusiastic dress tailoring. She stared at it for a little while, thinking.

“You know what?” She picked it up, walked back, and held it out to Rarity. “Why don’t we make it your kaleidoscope? You keep it, Rare.”

Rarity looked stunned for a moment. “Oh, no!” she protested. “Something this special to you? I couldn’t possibly.”

“Sure you could,” Rainbow said. “Truth is, to me it’s just a toy. Just pretty pictures. To you, it inspired this dress. That’s a lot more important. Maybe there’s still other dresses in there, too, just waiting. I think you’re the one who really needs it now.”

“But, Rainbow...” Rarity’s eyes started misting up. “Surely you’d miss it if you gave it to me, wouldn’t you?”

“Nah.” Rainbow Dash put one foreleg over Rarity’s withers, pulling her close until they were standing cheek-to-cheek. She smiled while they looked in the mirrors at the menagerie of reflections showing the two of them from so many different angles. “Living in Ponyville, with friends like you, I’ve already got a pretty awesome kaleidoscope all around me every day. I don’t think I could ever forget that.”

Author's Note

My entry for Scribblefest.

Sorry if it counts just slightly above 6000 words on FimFiction. I kept it under 5900 in my word processor to leave a little bit of buffer, but apparently FimFic really loves to highball even more than I thought. It's probably really bad in this particular story because I used a lot of markups, which I think FimFic counts even though they're not actually displayed as words in the story's text. :trixieshiftleft: Hopefully I can get some allowance for this, since I'm sure that the actual, meaningful wordcount is under 6k.