In the office, Bottom Line pulled the carriage of her typewriter back to the next line with her magic. With a small bell, it announced it was ready to start on the next line, which she quickly began. "--time, I suggest you..." She was speaking the words out loud as she typed just under her breath.
The door swung open without a knock. Libelous strode in confidently with Color just behind her. "--when you deal with Royalty, it gets a bit trickier."
"Trickier?!" He shook his head. "What do you do? I mean... if Celestia walked up to me..."
She raised a hoof. "You would talk to her like any other pony, if you want to be on her good side." She winked at Color. "Trade secret. She enjoys not being on the lofty pedestal she's earned for herself. On the other hoof..."
Color moved beside her once they were through the door, his horn glowing a moment to close it behind them. "There are catches?"
"As always." Libel nodded sagely. "Luna enjoys being deferred to, but not groveled towards. Cadance expects formality, but is quite kind. Twilight doesn't know what formality is, so just pretend she isn't a princess and you'll be fine." She frowned softly. "And... Flurry Heart is a tiny foal, so you probably won't be speaking to her and we don't know her habits yet. We'll worry about that in a few years."
Bottom watched the two of them talk across the top of her click-clacking typewriter, still writing her letter. "Welcome back, Ma'am. Thing go well?" Her eyes were on Color.
Color smiled gently. "It went great, thanks. We picked out two fantastic suits."
"And we were hoping you could help us decide which of them was the better one," finished Libel with a nod. She pointed into her office with a wing. "Go ahead and change into one of them, then we'll show the other."
Color saluted. "We'll try the colorful one first."
"Excellent choice." She nodded softly, watching him go before she turned to Bottom. "Has that sleepy pony been by while I was gone?"
"Earlier in the morning than I would have given him credit for." Bottom smiled gently. "Thank you."
"For?"
Bottom arched a brow. "He told me it was at least partially your fault he was able to be here and surprise me."
Libel smirked at that. "Did that go well?"
"We have a date," sang out Bottom. "And it should be fun... I never dated an earth pony before... but I feel so... safe around him. I feel comfortable, and relaxed... I like it."
Libel smiled a little more warmly. "You sound like you're about to do something terribly decadent."
"It feels that way." She willed the next carriage along with her magic. "I should likely get over that. He's a pony, not just some... stereotype. I hope that goes away as I get to know him better, even if it does amuse me."
Libel reached out a wing to pat Bottom on the shoulder. "I won't tell him. Do you like him then?"
"Too early." She waved the thought away. "He interests me, and I want to know more. That's enough." She suddenly got a new smile, deeper. "He taught me that. Let's take it one step at a time. He's a stallion I want to know if I like or don't like, and that's okay."
Libel tilted her head at her secretary. So... casual... It fit what she knew of Day Dreamer. She couldn't live that way. "I hope it goes well, for both of you. But... if he does something wrong, do not even think of hiding it from me. Tell me, and I will tear him in half." She huffed softly, then turned to the door. The very idea of some dopey stallion hurting her Bottom Line...
"That's terribly unlikely." She continued typing along. "By the way, main office wants a report on what you're hunting. One paragraph should be sufficient to placate them."
Libel grunted softly. Perhaps she was not as completely trusted as she had thought. Though a simple explanation was not entirely unwarranted. "I'll have it ready soon, after this." She pointed at the closed door. "First, we need you to judge."
Bottom glanced at the same door. As if bidden by their shared attention, its knob glowed and turned. It swung out to reveal Color in his colorful ensemble. Bright primary colors clashed vibrantly on his suit as he trotted out.
"May I present," spoke Libel, waving at him. "Color Splash, wearing a splash of color. Ready to take on the art scene!"
Bottom softly clopped her hooves. "Very interesting. Striking, yes, that is the word I'd use." Her eyes followed along the lines of the splattered paint. It wasn't actually splattered, of course. Each blot of color had been carefully sewn into place.
Color dipped his head at Bottom. "That's the first one, but we have two. We need your view on which one is the better." He ran a hoof lightly over his front. "It's nicely made." He turned back for the office, also allowing Bottom to see it from a few other angles in the process. "I'll get the other one."
He switched to the other suit far more quickly than he had the first, emerging with the color gradient and cooler shades of the one he preferred. "Ta da." He didn't say he liked it, nor that he liked the other. He turned in place and nodded. "This one is made nicely too." Both were entirely comfortable, but that wasn't the thing being judged.
Bottom stopped typing, instead tapping at her chin thoughtfully. "They both look quite nice..."
Libel rolled a hoof. "But if you had to pick the better...?"
Bottom frowned softly. "What is the impression you're trying to give? Are you a bold new force here to strike the scene?" She gestured towards the office. "Or are you a more measured presence trying to be thought about in a more thoughtful manner?" She gestured at the current suit. "Both are quite nice, but say different things."
Color quickly bobbed his head. "Exactly what I was thinking. You have a good eye."
"A great eye." Libel huffed softly. "One of many reasons she works here."
"If you want me to decide which is best, I'll need to see some of what he's created." She spread her hooves. "I can't judge how it reflects him without knowing what we're reflecting."
With a glowing horn, he quickly produced his sketchbook and floated it over to Bottom. "Here you are, have a look."
"Thank you." She accepted it in her own glow and began flipping through it. "Oh, hmm... Is that Miss Word?" Word began blushing, but Bottom flipped onwards. "Very nice... You have a real eye for portraits. Your landscapes could use more practice, I think. I'm not an expert, mind..."
Color accepted the praise with a smile. "Thank you, and I agree. I'm trying to grow in that direction, but I love drawing ponies and creatures. Give me a face to draw and I'm invested. The stance, the clothes, the setting around them... So much to consider, and I love it."
Bottom set the book down gently. "I have to side with this one." She nodded towards the more subdued of the two. "You're not a wild new force with this art. You're just a nice artist that deserves to be noticed, admired, and patronized. You're not making waves, I don't think."
Libel applied a hoof to her face in defeat. "Ugh..."
Bottom hiked a brow at that. "Don't like my decision."
"No! No... your decision is fine." She laughed in a strained way. "Just not what I thought..." She turned to Color directly. "You get your favor."
"I want a date," he said without a pause.
She blinked softly. "We spent all of today together. We ate, shopped, talked. Wasn't that enough?"
"Nope." He rolled a hoof. "We spent a lovely day as two professionals dealing with business. While I am eternally grateful for it, it was not a date. I want one where business is not something we talk about. Just you and me, being... together, because we want to be, not because we want to get something done. I want to talk about you. I want to talk about my silly thoughts. I want to have fun with my friend."
Libel took a slow breath in a measured three heartbeats in and three out. "Alright..." It wasn't that hard to imagine being seen with him dressed in that respectable suit... "Alright... I'll make a dinner plan then, and we'll enjoy some time together."
"By the way." Color smiled a bit lopsidedly. "What would you have asked for?"
"Nothing important." She waved it away. "Besides, I didn't win."
"Please?"
"Yes, do tell," joined in Bottom, her typing resumed, but her ears trained on the two of them.
Libel rolled her eyes mightily. "I was going to ask you to draw me... I had a scene in mind and everything..."
While Bottom restrained a snicker with professional grace, Color instead leaned forward. "I'd love to do that. You don't need to 'spend' a favor to ask that."
Libel's ears perked up. "It takes you a month to do a proper painting. You'd do that for me?"
He nodded quickly. "We're still re-learning each other, but I still like what I've seen so far. As your friend, it would be a pleasure to put your likeness on canvas." He bowed formally, a hoof over his chest. "You said you had a scene in mind? Please share that. I bet it's a lovely idea."
Libel softly coughed into a hoof. "I will pay then. I will not steal a month of my friend's professional time and not compensate them for it. This is not a negotiable point."
Bottom rolled a hoof, pausing her typing a moment. "She's serious, don't argue that point." She resumed typing as if nothing was going on.
Color put a hoof behind his head. Part of him wanted to argue! Why couldn't it just be a gift? Still... "Well... alright... You get a dis--"
"--No." She clopped a hoof down. "I am your first Canterlot client. You will assess a fee, a proper one. You're done being taken advantage of. You will be paid for your time, and it will be a fair amount for the talent you are bringing to this project, to say nothing of the supplies you use during it."
Bottom perked an ear softly. "If you'd like, Mister Splash, I can assemble an invoice for you. I just need your hourly rates. I can look up the rest of the figures." She winked, but never looked away from what she was typing. "I'll do that for free, and Miss Word won't stop me."
Libel huffed at that. "Uncalled for, but she is right. I already trust her to know how to manage her own affairs. If she's offering this service, I suggest taking it. Seeing a proper invoice will be good practice for the future."
Color nodded hesitantly. "Alright... Please. And thank you, this is very nice of you to do."
"Anything for a friend of my boyfriend." She burst into titters as she typed. "Not that we're even that far yet, but you can't blame a mare for dreaming." She began humming to herself happily. "I'll be leaving after this letter, Miss Word. If you want me to deliver your own, you'd best get to typing it."
"Ah, right. Splashy, take both suits home. I'll meet you there, alright?"
He nodded and pulled out the other suit in its bag, floating from inside the office. "You got it. Do you mind if I pick a place, for the date?"
"Are you ready for that?" She hiked a brow. "Picking a venue is critical to--"
"This is a date, not a practice client meeting." He suddenly darted forward and touched noses with her. "Just a date. Let's enjoy it."