"I drew a picture of you."
Rarity looked up from her work, one brow cocked curiously. Her hoof raised from the sewing machine's pedal as she looked in Rainbow Dash's direction.
"Darling, I didn't know we were 5 years old today," Rarity responded. The playful little smile spawned by her own joke quickly faded as she saw her love frown. Dash was usually quite good at taking a joke, but perhaps this one was ill-advised.
"I'm sorry, Dashie," Rarity said, bowing her head ever so slightly. "I was just making a funny."
"Well, it wasn't funny," the offended pegasus huffed. Rarity sighed and got up from her chair, leaving her work and trotting over to Dash.
"I truly am sorry, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said, her words accompanied by a nuzzle to her cheek. "This must mean a lot to you if my joke bothered you so much. It was a poor attempt at comedy and I truly regret it. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?" The words were far from hollow. Clearly Dash was proud of the drawing she'd made. Art was art, and Rarity had to admit to herself that she'd likely be just as perturbed if Dash had teased her about one of her dresses.
"Yeah, yeah..." Dash responded, returning the nuzzle even as her pout persisted. "It's fine. Whatever." It took another few nuzzles and an alabaster foreleg wrapped around her shoulders before the smallest hints of a smile tickled at the corners of her mouth.
"A-ha!" Rarity exclaimed. "You smiled! I'm off the hook!" She gave Dash a little squeeze as she watched that smile blossom. It was a lovely smile, one she truly appreciated and adored even as she glanced past it to notice the piece of paper folded under Dash's wing. "May I see it then? It must be excellent if it means this much to you."
"Well duh," Dash responded, her usual vigor beginning to return as she passed the paper over. "If it was bad, I wouldn't even want you to see it at all." Her chest swelled with pride, and Rarity had to admit that it was quite adorable seeing her so proud of something she'd drawn.
Rarity's eyes settled on the paper as she unfolded it, beyond eager to see just what it was that had Dash this excited. Dash had never really seemed like the artistic type. If she was, she had never brought it up, and considering how long the two had been friends, let alone dating, the chances of her keeping a secret like that felt unlikely. Rarity felt a hint of guilt for doubting Dash's ability, especially when she actually saw what had been drawn.
It wasn't a masterpiece. To compare it to a Ponet or other comparable artist would have been unfitting. But the talent was clearly there regardless. Rainbow Dash, a pony who had never displayed any sort of aptitude in the field of artistry, had captured her form far more skillfully than she could have ever imagined. The shade of purple chosen was impeccable, the highlights in her eyes were sensibly accented...she'd even remembered to draw that little birthmark just below her left ear. Oh, she hated that birthmark so much, but she loved it in this particular instance because its inclusion showed just how much attention Dash paid towards her. It might not have qualified for inclusion in a museum, but beauty was in the eyes of the beholder, and to this beholder, it was absolutely perfect.
"Rainbow Dash...!" Rarity exclaimed. She ever so briefly turned her eyes up from the picture to look at her love, and she could feel the fuzziness in her chest as she saw Rainbow's face. Rarity's reaction to the picture must have been plainly evident in her face, because Dash was beaming.
"So I guess you like it then?" Dash asked. This was a different side of Dash, one that she didn't show to many ponies. This wasn't the usual gloating grin that came when she received admiration for something she'd done, like a Wonderbolt performance or the like. This was the face of pure joy at having made the pony she loved so much this happy.
"Yes! A thousand times, yes!" Rarity gushed eliciting the slightest of blushes from her chromatic companion. She relished in the uncommon Dash blush before her gaze returned to the picture. "It's...it's..."
Hesitation. She hadn't expected to hesitate. She was all ready to continue showering Dash with praise. She'd even picked out the perfect word for it. Word use was important in doling out praise, and Rarity was positive that "exquisite" fit very well here. No, the hesitation came from somewhere else; a detail that she'd somehow overlooked the first time, even though it was staring her right in the face the whole time.
"...Why did you draw my butt so big?"
Rarity's eyes left the paper once more to focus on Dash. Her prideful smile faltered somewhat.
"What do you mean?" Dash said, a clear crack audible in her previous bravado. Rarity watched as her pupils shifted ever so slightly down and to Rarity's left side, clearly taking a peek at the posterior in question.
"What do you mean, what do you mean?" Rarity snapped back, adjusting her weight onto her right hind leg to move her derriere out of view. Rarity usually enjoyed it when Dash would look at her butt. She was proud of the shape she kept herself in. Right now, however, was not the time for such things.
"What do I mean?!" Dash spat out. She took a step back, clearly flustered as she tried once more to peek at Rarity's butt, but Rarity was having none of it.
"You drew it to be tremendous!" Rarity growled. "Do you really think my posterior is that huge?"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Dash groaned. "You know how much I like your butt! It's perfect! I could spend hours looking at it! I once accidentally drew it in a smoke trail in the sky during Wonderbolt practice because I was thinking about it so much!"
"And how big did you draw it that time, hmm?" Rarity replied, before letting out a haughty "hmph" and turning away from the pegasus.
"Come on, Rarity!" Dash whined. "I love your butt! I'm staring at it right now!"
"Hmph," Rarity responded.
"It's amazing!" Dash insisted.
"Hmph," Rarity responded once more.
"I want to bury my face in it!" Dash screamed, completely unconcerned about the ponies walking by the open window. "I could happily use your butt as a pillow and get a good night's sleep, and that's coming from somepony who sleeps on clouds!"
"Oh, so now my butt is like a big, fluffy pillow," Rarity said flatly, turning to glare at Dash.
"Horse apples!" Dash moaned, throwing her forelegs in the air. "Look, your butt is amazing! Who cares if I drew it a little big? It doesn't matter!"
"So it doesn't matter?" Rarity asked. She strode past Dash, not even listening to whatever she was trying to say. "Let's see how much it matters then, hm?" Without another word said, she lit her horn up, levitating a piece of paper and a quill over.
"What are you doing?" Dash demanded, but her question was met with utter silence. A verbal response wasn't really necessary, however, as quill was applied to paper and scribbling began. Dash stormed over and tried to get a look at the paper, but Rarity's magic pulled it to and fro to keep her prying eyes away. Just as Dash was about to pounce her, she thrusted the paper towards Dash's face.
"How do you like it?" Rarity snarled. Scrawled on the paper was a drawing of Dash; not quite as good as Dash's drawing of Rarity, but then again one had to account for haste. The details were decent for such a fast work, with the main outlier being the size of Dash's rear end. The proportions were cartoonish, to say the least.
"H-hey!" Dash yelped, rearing back a step. "My butt looks nothing like that! It's trim and streamlined!"
"Oh, but I thought it didn't matter?!" Rarity sneered, adding a mocking gravel to those last words in an attempt to imitate Dash's voice.
"Well it matters if you're just doing it to be rude!" Dash exclaimed. She was practically steaming as she stared at that non-aerodynamic rump that had been so spitefully drawn onto her frame. Magenta eyes narrowed as things clicked into place in her head. Rarity had drawn her butt bigger to get back at her. For a pony so dedicated to competition, the answer to such an action was obvious. Like a flash, the pegasus flew over Rarity's head and to her workbench, retrieving paper and quill of her own.
"You wouldn't dare," Rarity growled as she eyed the drawing implements.
"Oh, I'd dare," Dash answered back. Before Rarity could say another word, quill made contact with paper, and Dash was drawing up a storm.
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity shouted. Her first instinct was to pounce forward and tear the tools from Dash's hooves. That, however, was not ladylike behavior. Instead, the fashionista kept an even frown as she retrieved another piece of paper from her desk.
"Two can play at this game," Rarity said coldly.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Sweetie Belle! What's this?"
Sweetie looked away from the door of her room for the first time in about a half hour. She and the other Crusaders had been hard at work on decorating the door of the bedroom she used when staying at Rarity's place, and she hadn't even noticed Scootaloo walk away until she heard her voice coming from down the hall.
"What's what?" Sweetie asked, Apple Bloom looking over as well.
"This!" Scootaloo repeated. "Just come over and look!"
Sweetie rolled her eyes and set her paintbrush down, walking over to the door to Rarity's workroom despite her desire to finish her work. She took a look at the piece of paper in Scootaloo's hoof and raised a brow.
"It looks like...a tiny Rarity head on top of a giant butt," Bloom said as she peered over Sweeties shoulder.
"And there's a whole bunch more!" Scootaloo said, pointing to the pile of papers just inside the room. "The butts just keep getting bigger, and half of them have Rainbow Dash's head on them."
"What do you think it means?" Bloom asked.
"Probably something stupid," came Sweetie's flat reply.