A Dash Of A Rarity

by LoveandEdify

Rating: everyone
Tags: Rarity (EqG), Rainbow Dash (EqG), Comedy, Adventure, Equestria Girls, Anthro, Slice of Life, Human
Length: 8029

Feeling guilty for leading her friend on for her surprise party; Rainbow-Dash offers to do anything to make it up to Rarity. Little does she know, it's the beset thing that could have happened to her.

(Takes place after the Equestria Girls short: #FOMO) (Friendshipping One-Shot Series) After her surprise party; Rarity couldn’t feel any more proud after the tres magnifique party her friends gave her.

The only problem, Rainbow-Dash doesn’t feel the exact same way. In fact, she feels guilty for ditching her friend’s earlier offer to hang out. Seeing this as a chance to ignite a new spark in their friendship, Rarity offers to make it up to her friend by letting Rainbow be the center of an entire day.

After all, sometimes the best gift you can give to a friend; is you. :raritywink:

Published 2020-04-22 07:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-06-13 17:19:24 UTC

Episode One: Life After The Party (Part 1)

A Dash Of a Rarity

Episode 1: Life After The Party (Part 1)

After the awkward hug Rarity graciously received from all of her friends; they broke the hug

and Rainbow Dash said, “Enough of this emotional stuff; let’s get this party GOIN’!!!”

And got going it did. The party was something of a Mardi Gras-esque theme; except that it was more

suited around the fanciness of the decoration and traditions than anything else. There was

dress-up with various-colored beads, a version of charades where everyone had to guess

who someone was based off of pre-selected pieces of clothing and a celebrity they pulled out

of a hat, and a fancy purple velvet cake; among other things. All in all, it turned out to be one

of the happiest of surprises of all for Rarity; and if she really did have known about it; it would

have been ruined. Sure, she would have been “in the loop”, but if she didn’t show that blind

faith in her friends; she wouldn’t have had this “happy accident” in the first place. A few

minutes later, after all the presents were unwrapped and thank yous were said, the rest of the

Mane Seven went their separate ways.

Well, almost all of them.

“Au revoir, everyone. Thank you all so much for the surprise party.” cheered Rarity,

happy and grateful that she had great and caring friends that would throw her such a surprise.

As she stood out the front door to see her friends leave, she noticed that one of them

was missing from the picture. “Ooooh, Rainbow Dash.” she said in realization.

She went into her bedroom to find her friend laying down, almost as if she was sad and depressed

about something.

“What’s wrong, Rainbow? Didn’t you enjoy the party?” she asked out of concern for her friend.

She didn’t hear a response or see any movement other than Rainbow’s left arm droop over

the side of the bed.

Rarity walked calmly over to her to flip her back on her back to see if she was alright.

Once she was turned over; Rainbow just shook herself loose and let her just droop onto the

side of the bed again. Rarity impatiently tried to get her back up.

“Come on, Rainbow Dash. This is no way for you to be laying down on my bed.” she prodded,

trying to at least get her back up in a better position so she could find out what was going on;

but Rainbow still flopped on the side of the bed.

Rarity sighed and was about to leave before finally hearing Rainbow get back up on the bed,

but Rainbow lay down flat on her stomach and put Rarity’s pillow over her head. Hearing this,

Rarity turned around. “Darling?” She asked sympathetically. She then heard some soft muffled

phrase from Rainbow from underneath the pillow.

“What was that, darling?” she asked, gently yanking the pillow from Rainbow’s hands.

“Nothing,” Rainbow replied, not at all convincing her friend that it was nothing.

“Can I ask you something though, Rarity?” Rainbow asked, which earned her a sympathetic

nod from her friend. “Did you really know that it was a surprise party?” she asked.

Rarity gasped, knowing full well what her friend was referring to.

A few hours ago, right after school, Rarity invited Rainbow Dash over to her

place for a day of fun; but Rainbow passed due to “plans.” It left Rarity heartbroken to see

Rainbow have all of these other “plans” scheduled with the rest of their friends, but not invite

her. That is, until she was utterly shell-shocked to find that those “plans” were actually to get

the surprise party set up. Right before the party; Rainbow asked if Rarity thought if she and

their friends would let her celebrate her birthday alone, which Rarity sheepishly replied that

she knew something was up from the beginning.

And it was just now that Rarity realized that Rainbow’s initial concern wasn’t just for making

sure things were ok after a mistake for a party; but she still was in the fog as to why she would

be so concerned about her.

“Well, darling;” Rarity replied, “I knew that you must have had some reason for…”

“ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!” Rainbow interrupted in response.

Both of them were taken aback by Rainbow’s tone of voice. Rainbow laid back

down on the bed, but tucked in the covers and facing away from Rarity in shame. Rarity, on

the other hand, wondered if she should respond to Rainbow Dash with a truthful answer.

However, she knew that her friend deserved a truthful answer this time.

“No darling, I didn’t know anything about the surprise party heading into it.”

Rarity replied sympathetically, “But it was a wonderful surprise you and our friends put together for me.

I never have felt more so honored in all my life.” Rainbow then sat herself back up,

looking out the window; still looking rather glum for some reason.

“Oh come on, please tell me what’s wrong, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity tried coaxing her friend,

Rainbow then sighed out the window and finally turned her

depressed face towards Rarity.

“Oh, nothing. I just feel terrible for ditching you today and

getting all those ‘plans’ done without you. Especially since you reallyfelt left out today.” Rarity

was confused. “How ever did you know I was feeling left out in the first place?” She asked.

“Well,” Rainbow responded, half-guilty-half-sheepishly, “I first noticed it when I saw some

black carpet thing sticking up from the taxi. At first I thought it was just a headrest problem, so

I just let it be. But when I asked you if you knew that, I knew something was up and I just

felt…”

“terrible?” Rarity finished for her. Rainbow nodded dejectedly. Rarity then

sympathetically put her right arm over her friend’s shoulder. “Don’t be,” she encouraged her

friend, “that was the most thoughtful thing you or any of my friends could ever do for me.”

Rainbow teared up for a brief moment, then smiled.

“Really?” she asked, still with happy tears in her eyes. Rarity nodded,

“Yes, indeed; really.” she reaffirmed. She then offered a

suggestion, “But you know, if it would make you feel better; tomorrow’s Saturday, so we can

do some hanging out then.” Rainbow finally got back to her normal self after that.

“You mean it?!” she asked, Rarity nodded but was then immediately hugged by Rainbow.

“Oh thank you thank you thank you!!!” she cheered enthusiastically and gratefully.

Rarity accepted the hug with the same awkwardness as when she found out

about the party, but her expression then changed to a relieved one to see that her friend was

finally happy. “I gotta get some stuff ready for tomorrow, so I’ll text you in the morning; ok?

Ok, bye!!!” Rainbow said, happily bidding Rarity adieu for the night.

“Oh wait, Rainbow Dash; you don’t have to…” but before Rarity could

finish, her friend already zipped through the door slamming it shut; which startled her.

“...worry about all that.” she sighed and finished anyway. She shrugged her shoulders and

smiled it off anyway. “Oh well. Don’t worry, Rarity,” she said, giving herself a small pep talk

before getting a few important things set up for the next day. “I’m sure that you two will have

the most fun little hangout ever. Plus, I did end up getting the hangout session I wanted after

all and just didn’t know it.” she cheerfully sang in her head.

“This is the best, day, EVER!!!” Rarity cheerfully shrieked, in a pitch that was

so Pinkie-Pie, even the pink party animal herself would’ve been caught off guard.

Rarity happily sighed, then gently flopped onto the bed to plan out her day tomorrow.

The Next Day…

It was about 8:30 in the morning, and Rainbow Dash was inside her garage at her house,

staring at her bike in disbelief.

She was planning to pick up Rarity on it in the afternoon for a fun (yet Rarity-friendly)

road-trip on her motorcycle to make up for how she seemed to have slighted her

by picking up Twilight and giving her a ride to unintentionally slight Rarity.

But now, as she abruptly discovered, her motorcycle stopped working

and as much as she tried to diagnose the issue, it still wouldn’t

work so she would have to take it to the shop.

She knew that the auto-shop she liked going to wouldn’t open until 9, and

even then, who knows how long it would take for the shop to get the bike fixed.

She knew that Rarity might get disappointed about the surprise, but she also

knew that in some situations; what had to be done had to be done. So she called the shop to

haul the motorcycle over to the shop. It was now 8:40 and Rainbow was now depressed

about having to mess up that part of the plan.

“Might as well text Rarity the bad news about the motorbike.” she thought to herself,

“At least she hopefully wouldn’t mind just hanging out here at my house.”

She then texted Rarity.

RD: Hey Rare. :pinkiehappy: So, bad news; motorbike’s
in the shop today. :facehoof:

But before Rainbow could text her friend offering to make it a chill day at her house, Rarity

then quickly texted back.

RD: Hey Rare. :pinkiehappy: So, bad news; motorbike’s
in the shop today. :facehoof:

Good news; you’re friend Rarity is ready to both cheer and pick
you up today. :raritystarry::raritystarry:

Rainbow stared at the text in confusion before she heard a horn honk right outside her garage

door. She turned in surprise to see a smaller luxury car, smaller than the limo she usually rode

in, parked right outside the door and Rarity waving out the driver seat window.

“Yoo-hoo? Rainbow-Dash?” she happily called, “Ready to hang out now?” This time, it was

Rainbow’s turn to be surprised. In a thrilled, new discovery about her friend sort of way.

“Whoa.” She responded in surprise and happiness.

“Like the car, Rainbow?” Rarity asked from the driver’s seat..

“Well yeah, it’s awesome!!!” Rainbow called out from the garage in approval.

She was about to walk out, but then took a good look at herself and realized that

she and her clothes were a little oily from trying to work on the motorcycle.

“Uh, I might need to get cleaned up first; if you don’t mind.” she asked,

rather embarrassed at the situation.

“That’s quite alright, darling.” Rarity said, understandingly,

“I have a towel on the passenger seat and I always pack some extra clothes just in case of

emergencies. Now hop in here, you silly girl.” Rainbow

excitedly hopped into the car, and Rarity then drove the pair off into the city.

A Few Minutes Later…

The ride over to the spa was a quick one because it was nearby,

so nothing too eventful ended up happening while they were in the car.

(Unless you can count Rainbow pondering what Rarity meant by “some” extra

clothes as eventful.)

Once Rarity parked at the spa, the two hopped out and went into the

spa.

“The spa here has a rinse-and-soak, Rainbow, So you

can go ahead and get washed up before the treatment if you want to.” Rarity informed her friend,

Rainbow was still trying to soak in the environment (no pun intended)

so she was a little surprised when she felt a paper touch her hand.

She quickly looked and saw that Rarity handed her a map of the place.

“I’ll meet you back in the main lobby. Ta-ta.” she heard Rarity call, in a cheery, song-like tone as

she went to her spa room.

“Thanks Rarity!” she called back. Rainbow studied the map if it were a playbook

because this spa was way bigger than Rainbow expected. Think shopping

supermall, covered in precious jewels and basically the wholesome and healing aroma that

would radiate through the spa, the water, the oils and the customer service that would just

flow both within and outside the premise that would drain them of their burdens and alleviate

them with healing and a renewed sense of mind and spirit. She stressed for a bit, but

saw that this particular map already had a route drawn for her to follow.

She sighed in relief, grateful for both Rarity always having her back and for

finallybeing able to find out where she needed to go in the spa.

She was about to walk to the rinse-and-soak when she realized that the line was ridiculously long.

”A line?!? This day’s ALREADY AMAZING!!!” -- :pinkiehappy: (from Sunset’s Backstage Pass)

Sorry, I had to add that in there. Because, Rainbow’s literally in line

right now. :rainbowlaugh:

15 minutes later…

Rainbow was still in line when Rarity finally walked outside the spa room she was in. It could

be because that Rainbow never saw Rarity immediately right after she got out of a spa, but

she smelled fresh as a daisy and sparkling like a diamond. Rainbow didn’t know how to react

because she was still looking like a bit of a mess.

“Whoa-ho-ho!!! You look tres magnifique.” she said, complimenting in

awe of how beautiful she looked. Rarity was about to return the compliment when she noticed

that the line had barely made any progress at all.

“Hmph, those snobs who run the place!!!” she shouted in disgust, she then called

a number on her phone to speed-dial and shouted,

“IT DOESN’T MATTER THAT THIS IS THE MOST POPULAR SPA RESORT IN EQUESTRIA!!!

YOU’VE LET THOUSANDS OF CUSTOMERS

DOWN WITH YOUR DOWNRIGHT SHODDY CUSTOMER SERVICE AND LENGTHY

DELAYS!!! ESPECIALLY WITH ONE OF MY BUSINESSES!!! YOU ARE TO START PACKING

ANY PERSONAL BELONGINGS OF YOURS AT ONCE BECAUSE YOU ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED

TO SET FOOT ANYWHERE NEAR MY ESTABLISHMENTS, PERSONAL OR PRIVATE!!!

YOU... ARE... SO... FIRED!!!”

“Come on Rainbow-Dash, let’s get out of here!!!” she said, practically

dragging her friend outside the building.

Rainbow was confused yet again,

“Wait, why are we leaving now?” she asked.

Rarity just stayed quiet as she furiously marched the two out to the car.

“Auto-Pilot, On!!!” she shouted into her phone. The phone connected to the car and started

the car.

“Whoa, cool.” Rainbow said, “But aren’t you going to tell me what’s going on he--”

“Auto-Pilot, start recording Episode 25 of Season 2 of Rarity Raves on Fashion!!!” Rarity

interrupted,

“Right away, Rarity” the car responded, “Recording… now”

Rarity then calmed down and cleared her throat. “Hello darlings, and welcome to another

fabulous episode of Rarity Raves on Fashion.”

she started in a much calmer voice now, as the car started to drive on the road.

“We’ve just left my top chain spa, Sweet, Petite and You-Nique; and I’ll bet they’ll be very

surprised to find out that they either need an extensive upgrade to their customer

service, a more efficient line service, a change of management or perhaps possibly all 3.

Here with me today to talk about her experience is an amazing friend who happened to

be caught victim of one of these utterly impolite crises.

Head of the popular band, the Rainbooms, Rainbow-Dash.”

Rainbow didn’t know what to say, she was caught off guard by her whole experience so

she just offered a Fluttershy-esque, “Uh, hi everyone. Really happy to be here.”

Rarity just then continued on,

“Now then, check this out; I go inside my spa, which is attracting customers like always…”

A few minutes later...

Rarity ranted on about how terrible the service her business was for her friend and how some

people were being treated better than others in the shop until the duo finally arrived back at Rarity’s

house. It was now 9:15 when the two finally hopped out of the car and walked back into

Rarity’s house. She then walked Rainbow to her bathroom.

“You should know where the body wash and shampoo is. I’m not rushing you, but please

try to be ready by 11. Your new clothes are hanging inside the bathroom door when you get

out, alright darling?” Rainbow just nodded, wondering what other things would be going on today.

“Very well then,” Rarity responded, “Let me know what you want to do after that. Ta-ta, darling.”

As Rainbow started showering, she was wondering why Rarity was trying to treat her like this.

Last she checked, Rarity wasn’t the sort to spontaneously be like, “Hey, you wanna hang out

sometime?”

And that wasn’t even the way Rarity asked her. She usually wasn’t this much outgoing or bold, and

she saw her hang out with Applejack and Twilight a few times, which was absolutely fine by

her. But what made Rarity want to hang out with her? Maybe there was something else about

her friend she didn’t know about.

Well, whatever it was; she decided that she’ll figure it out as the day would roll on.

She finished getting herself out of the shower and then she slipped into

the new clothes Rarity got out for her. They were a pleasant combination of fashionable yet

Practical. She slipped into a pair of Rough-N-Tumble jeans, which were jeans that were made

from recycled fabrics from other trashed jeans that were designed to be flexible and

comfortable; yet (because they were made from reliable materials of other work jeans that

were washed and refined) very useful for any environment and element needed.

“Applejack’s handprints are all over this one.” Rainbow observed, admiring the

perfect balance of beauty and practicality. A balance she enjoyed very well.

She stopped for a moment when she saw the t-shirt that Rarity gave her. (Rainbow still had the towel

around her waist, so don’t get any ideas. Unless you think getting reported is fun.) It was a

shirt that had the seven colors of the rainbow in rings that were around the sleeves. The same

pattern alternated down from the collar of the shirt to the very bottom of the shirt. The logo on

the shirt? Think the Harley Quinn “Daddy’s Little Monster” font from Suicide Squad, but

reading, “The Rainbooms” with “The” being smaller and right above the bigger,

“Rainbooms” Rainbow then checked the clock on Rarity’s bathroom wall. It was 9:30. She

then put on the t-shirt and went to find Rarity. She figured Rarity was in her room, waiting for

her to come hang out or something.

Sure enough, as soon as she came into Rarity’s room,

she was chatting around for a bit. “So, I was thinking, Rainbow Dash, that we’d…” Rarity

paused for a moment when she saw Rainbow in the t-shirt Rarity handed her. “Oh, whoops…”

she said, embarrassingly to herself before getting off the bed and accidentally tripping over

herself; Rainbow quickly caught her as her friend stumbled out of the door. “Ah, thank you

Rainbow.” she said, dusting herself off.

“Now; I was thinking that today, we make it all about you.

I want to take you to wherever it is you want to go today. Movies, the park, bowling,

or we can just have a quiet day in if you’d like.

And don’t you dare think of paying for anything, darling. It’s all on me. I’m Team Rainbow

Dash today and forever!!! :raritywink::raritystarry:”

Rainbow was about to hesitate again but this time, her perspective changed.

There were a few things that she knew that both of them would like and maybe a few things

that would get her out of her comfort zone. After all, Rarity did say that she wanted to hang

out, right? In fact, Rainbow-Dash actually wanted to spend some more

bonding time for a while now. Her main concern now, was that since Rarity

was being so generous to her, she didn’t really want to screw up such an

opportunity by being too, well... Dash, with everything.

But at the same time, she didn’t want to be too ooh la la and

Fun and Fancy Froo-Froo either.

Obviously, the solution to Rainbow’s friendship problem was a

penalty kick with no defenders or goalie stopping her.

Just choose something they both would probably like and then, BINGO!!! Quality

fun time for all. However, she knew that there actually were defenders

in the game of life, and a goalie too. Kick it the wrong way or in an

underachieving fashion, and you will lose. But, on the other

hand, this was also the Rainbow-Dash who knew that the

only way to find out anything in life in the first place,

was to focus, run up and give the ball a good hard kick.

After a few, good, hard minutes (really, it was only a few seconds), Rainbow took a deep breath and

was ready with her decision.

“So, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity kindly offered, “What would you like to do today?”

Author's Note

Hey every JaBrony and Pegasister :rainbowdetermined2: :twilightsmile::ajsmug::pinkiehappy::yay::raritystarry::moustache::trollestia: It’s me, LoveandEdify here.

Obviously, the world needs stories now more than ever due to the fact that so many of us are just bored out of our minds right now. But what’s even worse, is that the vast majority of us right now, moreso than ever need the only vitamin we’ll ever need that’ll be a cure in this whacked-out time, that we’re not getting enough of.

Hope.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Why are you adding a new story right now when you have stuff for various outlets you need to get going on. Like your Power Rangers/MLP Crossover you promised?”

First off, yes, that crossover is still going to happen. It’ll be called “My Little Mighty Morphin Power Ponies” and although it’ll have a TBD release date, it’ll still happen.

Also, there are various stories I want to update, because there are various ways to spread hope. In fact, this story was once one that was up on another site; but due to lack of popularity, was forced to be deleted. Knowing that there’s a more MLP-centered fanbase on there though, I just knew that this was gonna be the story’s second shot of redemption.

This was originally going to be a two-part story; but I have decided, that since the world needs more encouragement and love more than ever, it will be a series of one-shots.

How many seasons? I don’t know. It’ll most likely be 10 episodes for the first season, then we’ll see how popular these get from here.

Until then, Stay Safe, Stay Strong.

Also...now more than ever...

Keep Loving, Keep Edifying, Keep LoveandEdifying. :heart::pinkiehappy::heart::pinkiehappy:

See ya next time!!! :twilightsmile::twilightsmile::twilightsmile:

Episode Two: Life After The Party (Part 2)

Previously… on A Dash Of Rarity

"Now; I was thinking that

today, we make it all about you." Rainbow was confused. "Me?" she said, pointing to herself in

verification. "Of course you, darling." Rarity responded. "I want to take you to wherever it is

you want to go today. Movies, the park, bowling, or we can just have a quiet day in if you'd

like. And don't worry about paying for anything, darling. It's all on me. I'm Team Rainbow

Dash today." Rainbow was about to hesitate again but this time, her perspective changed.

There were a few things that she knew that both of them would like and maybe a few things

that would get her out of her comfort zone. After all, Rarity did say that she wanted to hang

out, right? Just choose something they both would probably like and then, BINGO! Quality

fun time for all. "So, Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked. "What would you like to do today?"

A Dash Of Rarity: Part 2

Rainbow then realized there was at least one thing she wanted to do with Rarity. “Well, I don’t

know how many more of these I’m going to have today,” Rainbow said, pausing for a brief

moment afterwards, “but I do have one fun idea.” “Ooooh, do tell.” Rarity responded, with

approval and excitement…

About 15 Minutes Later…

Ok, admittingly it was a little more far-fetched than Rainbow thought; but all things considered,

a Fun Park should be… fun. Right?!? (I guess that’s what having this as my lowest viewed

story can do to you. LOL)

Once the two got inside, Rainbow took Rarity to the center of the fun

park; which there was a giant holographic map.

“Ok, so this is the map of the fun park. Each type of game or activity is zoned in

different colors: Red is for more active, stimulating games

(like Virtual Reality, Laser-Tag, that sort of thing), Green is for the outside things (picnic tables,

batting cage, mini golf, go-kart racing), Blue is obviously for the things that are outside water

games and the pool, Purple’s the prize booth, and the yellow one’s just a hangout space for

when people are tired and want to take a break.” Rarity looked at the shades of colors of the

map as if her mind was cataloging them into a new colors selection list for her clothing.

“Wow, amazing…” Rarity said, aweing at the colors. “Pretty cool colors, right?” Rainbow

asked. “Oh yes, indeed. Sorry if I seemed a little distracted;” Rarity apologized, “It’s just that

the colors are so inspiring.” “I’ll bet they are,” Rainbow replied, “So what game do you want to

play first?” she asked.

At the pool…

Rarity thought that the pool would sound like a good place to go (if only she thought of

bringing her bathing suit); but thinking ahead, Rainbow Dash bought the duo swimsuits

anyway. Delighted, the two friends jumped in the pool and swam for a good while. After

getting dried off, she next lead them to the mini golf course. Although it took a while for Rarity

to get the hang of mini golf, she eventually caught onto the game and (even though she lost

by just 4 strokes to Rainbow) really enjoyed it. The two friends also enjoyed a game of

laser-tag, various arcade games, batting cages, and even an epic go-kart race. That was

where the two finally decided to end their fun-park portion of the day.

At the pizza place…

“So Rarity, did you enjoy the fun-park?” Rainbow asked. It was now around 11:20; Rainbow

decided to get a small cheese pizza slice and the both of them decided to get small salads

and iced waters as well. The pizza place aimed to be a small, New-York style place that was

its own room inside the arcade.

“Oh, yes I did, of course;” Rarity replied, but then paused to

get a good look at Rainbow Dash. Her friends look, while looking happy, was actually

betraying her true feelings of the situation.

Just then, the waiter came asking for

the payment for the order. Rarity was about to get her card out of her card, when Rainbow

clumsily tried to get her wallet from her purse, which made her knock into the waiter by

mistake, hence making him spill a drink he had for another customer onto the freshly-waxed

floor.

“Ooops, I’m terribly sorry about that…” Rainbow apologized as she hastily picked up

her belongings and paying the waiter, all while looking at the waiter beet red. The waiter

looked at her as if nothing had happened, inserted Rainbow’s card into his machine, gave her

the card back, and went on his way. Rainbow deeply breathed a sigh of relief.

“Rainbow,” Rarity gently called out, breaking her thoughts, “What is all this?” she asked, intrigued.

Rainbow facepalmed in humiliation. Rarity must have picked up one of her things when she

wasn’t looking. The item in question happened to be a map of some sorts, that looked more

like that for a desert landscape than a route of any city either one of them were familiar with.

The path was an obvious red line with some twists and turns along the way, and some of the

key stopping points were marked with red scratch-drawn motorcycles. “Rainbow?!?” Rarity

asked both in curiosity and gratitude. “Did you plan this little road trip for us?” Rainbow

couldn’t think of a way to respond to her friend successfully guessing what the original plans

so she simply shrugged her shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell me about this idea?!” Rarity asked,

worried that her friend wasn’t really having fun for some reason. Rainbow thought for a

moment and even though she wanted to say, “Well, I didn’t know that you would want to do

something like that.” what actually came out was, “Why are you being so nice to me?! Rarity

was taken aback slightly, “Whatever do you mean, darling? We’re friends, aren’t we? I

thought you wanted to have some fun together.” she said, with a happy yet slightly hurt crack

in her voice.

Rainbow immediately regretted what she said and how she said it; but at the same time, she

really wanted to know the answer. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that.” Rainbow

apologized, gaining a new look from Rarity. Not one of anger or shock, but concern.

As if she actually knew what problems she was hiding through the thorns of her facade.

Rarity wanted to do everything to ensure Rainbow that she was still as awesome as ever

and that everything was great between them, but that would have to wait, as they both checked

the large LED clock the pizza place had hanging above their door. It was now 11:41.

“I could remind you of how great a friend you

are all day; but I really really wanna get the Raricycle and go on that road trip now!!!” Rarity

exclaimed. Rainbow took a good look at Rarity’s enthusiasm, and it made her do a double-take

to make sure Pinkie-Pie didn’t sneak in here somehow.

“First off,” Rainbow replied in curiosity but keeping her optimism in check,

“what’s a Raricycle?” she asked. Knowing that “Raricycle” was a very grey term, it could

mean something like a mountain bike or a dainty ride-around-the-park bike or even a cycle as

in a prep-time until they left. Rainbow was lost in that thought until she felt Rarity softly

grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.

“Yoo-hoo? Darling?” Rarity gently called out, she then pointed to the front door of the

fun-park. Rainbow turned to see Rarity’s limo parked up

front. “Come along Dashie,” she called out, “We’re making a quick stop to get the Raricycle

for our trip.” Rainbow then facepalmed, annoyed that she still didn’t know what

a Raricycle is.

A few minutes later…

There wasn’t that much traffic on the way to where Rarity kept the Raricycle;

so it was a short easy trip to get there. Once they got to where the Raricycle was

being kept on the other hand; well…

“Wait! This is the repair shop I took my motorcycle.”

Rainbow realized.

“Mhm.” Rarity confirmed, nodding. “You know how I despise

getting all of that oily filth all over me? Well, I often hire your mechanic out for all my

routine vechicular repairs; and just got the Raricycle upgraded today.”

It was way out of left field for Rainbow to see her friend as an energetic, bouncy girl; but it was as if

the baseball found its way to a bowling alley when she was now trying to picture Rarity as a

motorcycle owner. Sure enough, when the duo went inside; there it was. A beautiful, state of

the art, latest technology included motorcycle.

“It’s in mint condition darling, I just wanted to save it for some special time like today.”

Rarity informed. Rainbow took one look at

the motorcycle, then at Rarity, then at some tools lying there in plain sight.

When Rarity saw where Rainbow-Dash was looking, she pretty much knew what

was swirling inside her friend’s daredevil-may-care mind.

“You sure you can handle this, Rarity?” Rainbow challenged.

Rarity just brushed it off, knowing that her friend would’ve felt even

more down if she declined.

“Oh come on, Rainbow. Don’t you know who you’re talking to here? This is Rarity we’re

talking to, darling. I can handle anything.”

“Ican’thandlethis, Ican’thandlethis, Ican’thandlethis, Ican’thandlethis, Ican’thandlethis…”

Rarity’s frantic screaming as the motorbike was going a whopping 10,000 mph, and the fact

that she was clutching herself around Rainbow Dash’s waist like she was magnetized to her,

proved that she infact could not handle it.

“What’s that, Rarity?!?” Rainbow Dash called out as

the bike continued to zip and zoom at incredible speeds across the street. “Yeah, I know.

You’re probably thinking that this is so AWESOME!!! Getting some quality Rainbow time in,

breathing that beautiful air in, cruising around in your new-and-improved Raricycle that I fixed

in supersonic speed while you were yapping about how ok you were with everything!!!” she

rambled on, not even paying attention to a desparately clutching Rarity. After zooming across

a highway, she finally took a “shortcut” through a desert gulch. Now, the fact that they saw all

sorts of desert critters from jackals and coyotes to lizards and rattlesnakes was irrelevant

because they were going too fast to really see them all. What really mattered was that there

was this canyon and… well; you should know by now what Rainbow Dash + Canyon

a whole load of adrenaline is gonna equal.

“Don’t worry, Rarity!!! Just hold on tight and don’t look down!!!”

Luckily for Rarity, those were the few words of Rainbow Dash’s that she was

able to hear. Soon enough, Rainbow launched the motorcycle from one end of the 100-mile

canyon to the other. When the motorcycle was about 250 feet in the air, Rainbow said,

“Rarisawki, engage small plane mode.” Before Rarity could process what was going on, the

motorcycle began to shift into a small, fighter jet-esque plane of sorts. To Rarity’s delight,

Rainbow was, finally. flying at a normal speed. Well, normal for the average

human, that is.

“Good evening ladies and gents, this is your

captain speaking…” Rainbow gently called out to her friend, whose ears were paying

attention; but her eyes were taken another direction by the beautiful scenery of the desert

around her. It was so calming and relaxing, that within a matter of seconds of gazing, she

instantly calmed down from the adrenaline-powered adventure she was on earlier and let her

mind wander through the majestic scenery. “We’re gonna stop by an old friend of mine’s shop

real quick and then I’m gonna take you on a hike. Is that ok?” Rainbow asked.

“Hm?” Rarity asked, as the plane hovered near a small corner store.

She finally noticed that the plane was hovering over the shop.

“Oh, sure darling. That sounds like a splendid idea.” she

affirmed, looking forward to what was going to happen next on their little adventure.

About 20 minutes later…

After Rainbow finally landed the plane and the duo stopped into the shop for some extra

supplies, the two finally set out for their hike through the canyon hills.

“Oh, come on, Rainbow Dash… you absolutely must tell me how you outright

transformed the Raricycle into the fantastic and awesome… Rari-sawka-way’ah?” Rarity asked.

“It’s Rarisawki,” Rainbow corrected, “And I don’t really wanna talk about it right now.” she told her.

“But you have to admit, you’ve never seen anything quite like that before in your life. Huh,

Rainbow Dash?” Rarity asked, still excited from their exillerating adventure thus far.

Rainbow simply snickered, “Ha-ha. I pull speed feats like that every day, Rarity.

You, on the other hand, looked as sick as polar bear with a fever.”

The two friends laughed in rememberance of the

wild ride, then resumed their hike down the rocky hill. While they continued to slowly descend

the trail, the two took plenty of time (and photos) of the vast and gorgeous scenery around

them. Packs of coyotes running around playfully ran past them along a grassy bluff, a flock of

pheasants flew right over their heads, a pagolin walking towards its burrow; as well as various

other natural beauties such as rare varieties of wildflower, towering cacti the size of small

apartment buildings, and even a flock of hummingbirds injesting the luscious nectar of

chuparosa.

Rarity really seemed to soak in the natural scenery of it all. And yet, something was missing.

She first noticed it when she went to the spa with Rainbow that her skittles-colored friend

seemed off her game today. So hesitant, so insecure, so nervous, so... afraid.

Yes, that’s what the word was. So very afraid for some reason. She knew that Rainbow was

trying to make everything perfect for her today, but she’d never seen Rainbow act this way

before. Even when the two of them were alone on several occasions; Rainbow was never

indecisive about being the confident, cocky, brave, outgoing friend that she was.

And sure, Rainbow tended to be calm, chill and collected most of the time (making

one assume she was downright lazy); but when it came down to it, Rainbow was

actually the most passionate, committed, loyal and caring friends that she had

ever met.

Despite their differences in interest and personality, Rarity truly loved Rainbow-Dash

what had to be one of the most amazing sights she had ever seen had to be

when an antelope (a nonantropomorphic one), right out of the blue, strode right over to the

pair of friends on a nearby, downhill trail.

“Oh look Rarity, I think you found a new friend.”

Rainbow whispered happily to Rarity as the creature strode its way towards her.

“Oh, me?!?” Rarity nervously responded as the antelope inched closer. “Well, I, I, I…” she stammered,

nervously taking a few steps back towards Rainbow.

“Come on, Rarity.” Rainbow encouraged. “I think he wants you to pet him.”

Rarity was still nervous; but hearing Rainbow’s encouragement

lead her to walk a few steps closer towards the beast.

She calmly put her hand on the antelope’s head and stroked it gently; like she would with her cat,

Opal, back home.

The antelope responded by giving a friendly nuzzle against Rarity, while being careful not to pierce

her with its horns. “Well, you do seem to be a kind, gentle… ow!!!” Rarity ceased her soothing as

one of the antelope’s horns scratched Rarity’s right cheek.

“Rarity, are you alright?!?” Rainbow asked. Rarity quickly turned towards her friend in alarm,

then quickly turned to the antelope; who now bolted at Rainbow’s surprise scream for help,

then back to Rainbow.

“Yes, of course I’m fine. Just a flesh wound is all, darling. The poor little fellow didn’t mean to scratch

me, of course. I really wish that you didn’t scare him away.” Rarity consoled, both for Rainbow’s sake,

and her own sanity.

Rainbow was about to interject, when they both saw the antelope slowly and repentantly

come back, as if to say, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Can we be friends again?” Rarity offered

the creature a welcoming smile as he came back and nuzzled Rarity once again, while she was

stroking him like rubbing and gently stroking a dog.

“Oh phew. Sorry, Rares. I guess I saw him get ya and ‘kinda’ overreacted.” Dash apologized,

as Rarity continued to pet and give gentle pats to her new antelope pal, while still

intently hearing what her friend was saying.

She gave one last nuzzle on her animal friend’s side before seeing him off and turned, sighing towards

her human friend.

“Alright Rainbow-Dash, I don’t know what it is that’s been going on today but something’s been

seeming extremely off about you today, and I want to know now!!!” Rarity ordered sternly, looking for

some kind of reaction out of Rainbow to see how dire the situation was. Instead of making up some

weird excuse, telling Rarity that she was fine or even shunting it like it was no big deal; she, the brave,

cool, radical and awesome Rainbow Danger Dash, flinched back with her whole gaze frozen in fear.

Fear, and what seemed like anxiety and self-loathing mixed in.

Knowing now that Rainbow-Dash wasn’t feeling up to giving her an answer for her this time,

she felt her own countenance go from concern to straight-up empathy. She fought the urge to cry

herself, knowing that it wasn’t the right time to let all of her emotion out just yet. “How does Sunset

Shimmer do this empathy thing so well? It’s almost as if it’s her element or something.” She briefly

pondered, as she saw Rainbow now being the one on the verge of tears, and crumpled onto the

ground.

“Rainbow darling, you don’t have to tell me everything that’s going on right now; but if there’s anything

I can do to make you feel better, then please tell me so. Ok?” Rarity sincerely beckoned.

Rarity knew from experience that when some people asked how they could help, they mostly did

it to get the issue off their back, move on and have a nice rest of their day. But not Rarity. When she

wanted to fix a problem; she wanted to go through every detail thoroughly so that no, not

so she could fix the problem, check a good deed off the list and call it a day, but so she could heal

her friend so that they would know that there is no need for the trauma or a need to go through

life alone ever again. Not because she merely wanted to help a friend, but that’s who she would be,

even if she and Rainbow were complete strangers.

“Rainbow, I... ooof” Rarity gasped as she felt the athletic, muscular body of her friend tackle her

to the ground, sobbing as she landed on top of her.

“Please don’t hate me, Rarity.” Rainbow practically pleaded, but because her head was buried into

Rarity’s shirt; the fashionista could only make out muffled sobs.

“Oh you poor Darling.” Rarity sympathetically uttered, as she hugged Rainbow’s prone form and

massaged Dash’s back.

She pressed firmly yet gently into her friend’s deltoids and circularly rubbed around them as Dash

continued to let the pain and suffering fall in the form of her tears. Rarity felt heartbroken,

but not for herself or that her day was ruined; but rather, out of empathy for one of her closest

friends.

Clichely enough however, it started to thunder and lightning and pour down rain at the very moment.

But Rarity didn’t notice. That is, until she felt drops of rain cascading onto her hands as she was

still massaging Rainbow.

“Oh dear, you’ll catch cold. Don’t worry, Rainbow-Dash, we’ll get you home safe and sound.” she

determined.

The duo then got up, Rarity slightly quicker than Rainbow. Rarity was about to make a mad-dash

to the store, when she was stopped by Dash tightly grabbing her wrist.

Rarity then turned to see Rainbow messing with what looked like a touchscreen-watch of sorts.

“Rarisawki, sending you coordinates. Pick us up, then drop us off at...” While Rainbow-Dash gave more

details to the watch, Rarity listened in shock as to how smart her friend actually was. And not just with

the Raricycle makeover.

She knew that there were times where Rainbow-Dash proved herself to be more than

what she seemed to be. There were times where she was the most sensitive and emotional of the

bunch; even though she usually came off as brash and cocky.

She saw her come in 3rd in the Academic Olympics to Twilight and Sunset.

Not as high as she knew Rainbow wanted to push herself for day after day (at least

when it came to sports); but she did pretty well for a “total dumb jock.”

“Come on Rare, hop on! Er, I mean, Rarity. Because I know you don’t like...” Rainbow awkwardly

stumbled over her words as she and Rarity hopped on the motorcycle.

Some time later...

Although the Rarisawki was made to go over supersonic speeds, Rainbow-Dash still

programmed the motorcycle to check itself for mechanical issues along the way.

And the issue this time... the motorcycle ran out of gas. But other than that, the

ride went fairly smoothly. Really, Rainbow didn’t even have the Rarisawki go into supersonic

mode this time. Or any type of his-speed mode. It was comfortable. Comfortable for Rarity.

Except, not this time. Not when she knew that Dash was being a shell of who she really

was.

“Rainbow darling? I meant what I said earlier. If you feel like anything’s bothering you,

you have every right to tell me. I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide away

from me. While your confidence and your ability to remain poised and resilient during

challenging times is something I truly love and appreciate about you, that doesn’t mean

you should have to handle it on your own. That’s what your friends are for, darling.

That’s what I am for.” Rarity let her feelings pour down over the now-covered

jet, as Rainbow not only made the Rarisawki a high-speed, luxury-performance,

state of the art piece of machinery; but also made it into a convertible jet, with

a retractable roof for any and all weather purposes. Rarity sighed at that thought.

“I really wish I’m as awesome as you are, Rainbow-Dash.” Rarity thought out loud.

Her voice was now breaking however, as she reflected on everything she knew over

the years about her friend. “I wish I had the ability to be bold and go after everything

with nothing standing in my way. I wish that I could call something out as it is without

being afraid of what anyone thought of me like you can. I even wish that I had half the

selfless loyalty and commitment you have towards your friends.” She sighed sadly before

pausing to let Dash reflect on everything that had happened. “I could never hate you, Dash.

Not when you mean the most to me.”

When Rarity finished her little speech, the gas-pump’s clicker went off, indicating that

the tank in the Rarisawki was now full. Rarity turned her gaze from the ground to turn and

hopefully find Rainbow smiling or crying or something, really. Instead, she saw her friend

apathetically stride over to the mini-mart with cash in hand to pay for the fuel. Rarity’s heart

was still shattered. Her friend was broken, and she didn’t know if there was a way to put

their friendship back together again.

Author's Note

Wow, what a cliffhanger, huh? :pinkiegasp::pinkiegasp::pinkiegasp:

Alright everybrony and pegasista, I’m BAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAACK!!! :pinkiehappy::pinkiehappy::pinkiehappy:

So, what do you think of this series so far? Any way you think this intro episode is gonna end?

Fun Fact: I was going to release the whole ending to this episode today, but I figured that none of you would wanna read a 6,000 word FimFic. :rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh:

The way most of this was set up was that, it was an episode I had on hold from a couple of years ago when the story bombed on Fanfiction.

Once I found this community, I figured that this would be the best way to redeem a story I wanted to see published. Then I realized, “Yeah, people are gonna want more.” so I’m turning this into a one-shot series. I already have a good few ideas swirling around for Season 1, but it would be great to have fan-input for episodes as well.

Let me know what you wanna see in the next episodes, and how you think this 3-part opener’s gonna end.

Until next time...

ALWAYS Keep Loving...

ALWAYS Keep Edifying...

And especially...

ALWAYS Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeep LoveandEdifying (especially now, in these dark times.)

Remember, the best way to change the hateful world outside; is to let love come inside and to show it to somebody who needs it. That way, the love you show; can spread across your city, then the nation, then the world.

Good vibes, so many different ways.

See ya.