„Please stand still Rainbow Dash.”
“But I hate standing still! This pony needs to fly!”
Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes at the pegasus standing on the little podium in Carousel Boutique. The same outburst from Rainbow Dash had occurred, with minor variations, now for the fifth time.
And for the fifth time today Rarity said: “The more you fidget, the longer it will take.”
She released Rainbow Dash's pinned tail from under her hoof and continued to put the finishing touches on the dress that Rainbow Dash was currently wearing. Not an easy task as the Pegasus had become more and more agitated over the course of her work. What began with shifting from one hoof to another, had progressed to sudden flapping of her wings and angrily swishing her tail about.
Rainbow Dash was not a pony to hide her dislike for something. So she voiced it as often as she could, but still with enough time in between to not be classified as whining. Rainbow Dash would not be caught whining, but most certainly be caught complaining.
The white unicorn ignored most of her antics with a quiet grunt or a quick disapproving look before turning her attention back to the dress on Rainbow Dash’s body. Rarity had always shown an amazing level of patience, no doubt honed to its level thanks to her sister and her crusader friends.
Rainbow Dash decided to express her current state with a nonverbal gesture and began pouting. Her face was beginning to hurt when Rarity finally gave her a quick look. She just raised an eyebrow slightly before ignoring the pegasus again.
Alright Rainbow, you tried complaining, pouting, looking angry, looking bored and have tried to escape by flying away. None of it worked, so all that is left is to use your brain. Come on…you can do it.
Rainbow Dash sighed after her little mental debate and would now try a course of action that wasn’t her specialty. Rational calm discussions were more a thing for Twilight and not for a hotshot future Wonderbolt.
“Why can’t you just use one of those dress thingies?” she asked politely and pointed a hoof towards one of the numerous dress forms standing silently at attention along the far wall.
“Because I need a pegasus for my current work. My only pegasus dress form had an unfortunate accident when Sweetie Belle and her friends wanted to use it as a means to fly.” The unicorn groaned at that particular memory of her dress form being launched from one of the upstairs rooms out the window with three fillies on its back. Of course it just had to land in her favorite Petunias as well.
“Then why not ask Fluttershy? She loves doing stuff like this.” Rainbow Dash was determined to talk her way out of it.
“Fluttershy is busy. Besides I need a pegasus that can fly fast for this order.” Rarity fussed about with the fabric near Rainbow Dash’s wings. “And she does not owe me a favor.”
Rainbow Dash shot a curious glance towards the unicorn at her side. She tried to remember any favor she might have asked Rarity for, but came up empty after a few seconds.
“Huh? What do you mean?” she asked.
“Well, Fluttershy wasn’t the one to put sneezing powder in a bouquet of flowers and leave them in front of my front door.” Rarity casually remarked. Rainbow Dash instantly knew what her friend was playing at, but would not accept defeat so easily.
“Pinkie and I had just…”
“She also did not put itching power in one of my hats.” Rarity interrupted.
“That wasn’t even supposed to happen.” Which was a true statement from Rainbow Dash, she actually wanted to put the itching powder into Rarity’s boots.
“And she did not replace my sewing thread with that joke thread that dissolved after a while from body heat.” Rarity said and tugged at the fabric near Rainbow’s right wing.
“Your face when the dress you were wearing fell apart in the middle of the marketplace was priceless.” Rainbow tried to stop herself from laughing at the memory.
“Mmh…yes, hilarious.” Rarity deadpanned. “And let us not forget the most recent event of greased up horncare equipment.”
“Why do you think it was me?” Rainbow Dash asked and tried to keep a straight face. She failed miserably.
“Oh please Rainbow Dash. Young Scootaloo comes by asking about the whereabouts of Sweetie Belle and just a few moments later I find myself on the receiving end of a prank that only a pony with the power of flight would be able to pull off.” Rarity explained without changing the tone of her voice and without stopping her work.
“Yeah, I guess I do owe you one.” Rainbow Dash admitted and finally gave up her attempts of getting out of being a dress form. Anything she owed another pony she always repaid in full and Rarity had been pranked by her often in the past. “I’ll keep still now.”
“It’s just that the colors really don’t suit me at all.” The cyan Pegasus remarked and glanced at the dress currently on her body. Stripes of fabric swirled over her torso, legs and up her neck. It reminded her of a badly applied bandage. The colors were alternating between a bright neon pink and an equally bright green with small strips of her cyan coat shining through between the larger stripes. The only larger area not covered by the fabric was around her cutie mark as to not obscure it from sight.
“Yes. I do have to agree on that. They do rather clash with your coat.” Rarity agreed.
“I look like a zebra that’s not feeling well.” Rainbow Dash remarked causing Rarity to give a small amused snort of agreement.
“Do not fret my Dear, you shan’t be wearing it for much longer than needed.”
“And why is it so tight? I don’t think I will be able to run in this at all.” She tried stretching out one of her hind legs to prove her point. Sure enough she was only able to raise it half way before the fabric constricted her movement. It was practically skintight.
“It isn’t designed for running but rather for flying. You shouldn’t feel any resistance while flying and it also will not crease up or rip off when going fast.” Rarity explained while checking her work near Rainbow’s left wing again.
A thought leaped into the pegasus mind after combining some of the things Rarity had said.
“Wait, wait, wait. Flying fast? No running? Is this a dress for a Wonderbolt?!” in excitement she flared her wings open narrowly missing Rarity’s head.
“Would you please not do that when I am right beside you?” Rarity chastised the other mare.
“Sorry. So is it?”
“Is it what?”
“A dress for one of the Wonderbolts? Is it Spitfire? Nah…those colors wouldn’t fit her either.” Rainbow Dash mused and thought about who might be wearing these colors.
“Is it Fleetfoot? It’s Fleetfoot isn’t it?” she nearly was hopping in place out of joy to be the model for a Wonderbolt.
“I shan’t tell you who it is for.” Rarity replied slightly annoyed and waited for the giddy movements of her suddenly very animated dress form to cease.
“Oh come on! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease..”
“Stop it! I will not reveal my client if they choose to remain anonymous.” With those words Rarity stepped over to one of her desks and rummaged around in one of the drawers.
Rainbow Dash sulked at the unicorn’s refusal to tell her who the dress was for. Rarity had not explicitly denied that the dress was for a Wonderbolt however. At that revelation Rainbow’s mood picked up again and reflexively struck a pose befitting one of the Wonderbolts.
Rarity trotted back to the posing Pegasus with a small pouch in her magical grasp. The pouch was barely big enough to hold even one bit and Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at its sight.
“What’s that for?” she asked as Rarity begun sewing it into place underneath the fabric between Rainbow’s shoulders and just above her wings.
“It is a special request. You do not need to concern yourself with that right now.” With swift practiced movements the small mysterious pouch was now in place. Rainbow Dash barely felt it, but was still puzzled by its purpose.
Rarity stepped around Rainbow Dash one more time checking if everything was in place. Then she casually stepped over to her front door opening it with her magic.
“Now if you would be so kind, please fly a few laps around my boutique.” She asked and pointed out of the door.
“In this? Outside? Can’t I just fly around in this room for a bit?” Rainbow Dash hopefully inquired. She did not want so be seen in a dress that was SO not her style or colors.
“I need you to fly fast, really fast and work up some sweat. Besides with your speed you will be no more than a blur.” Rarity said and gave her a friendly smile.
Rainbow Dash sighed and with one swift movement was out of the building. She had to admire Rarity’s work while she accelerated more and more. The dress didn’t interfere with her flying one bit and she did not even feel the tiniest bit of resistance.
With blinding speed she flew a few dozen laps around Carousel Boutique. To any pony observing it would have looked like a cyan blur with streaks of pink and green circling around the building. The only giveaway was Rainbow Dash’s trademark rainbow contrail she left in her wake.
With a final lap she flew back in the open door and softly landed back of the podium. Rarity closed the door again and trotted up to Rainbow Dash who was breathing heavily and casually wiped a drop of sweat from her brow.
“And?” she asked with a small smile.
“It’s perfect! I didn’t even feel a thing while flying.” The pegasus complimented her friends abilities.
“Glad to hear that. Let me just check the seams on your legs again.” Rarity replied and carefully inspected her handiwork. Rainbow suddenly felt a small itch.
“Hey, I think one of your seams came undone. I can feel it poking me.”
“Oh really? Where?” Rarity asked and stepped back a few steps.
“Right there where you put in that pouch.” Rainbow Dash explained and shifted on her hooves from discomfort. Rarity made no attempt at correcting the problem.
“So soon? That went fast.” She merely said and had a small smile on her lips.
“Yeah, I… I think its a few threads now that are poking me.” Rainbow Dash said as the itching sensation suddenly became more frequent. She shifted her shoulders trying to stop that unpleasant feeling.
“Do you think you could do something about it? Its kinda getting worse, I…….. YAAARGH!” Rainbow Dash felt something give way where the small itching was and suddenly the itching intensified by a huge factor. The desperately tried to shake the seemingly undone seam back into some kind of position that would not itch anymore.
“Could you maybe lend me a hoof here?” she asked. Rarity simply giggled at the sight before her and kept watching Rainbow Dash from afar. It suddenly dawned on her what the fashionista had done.
That pouch had to have been made with joke thread that dissolved in body heat. Her flying about had caused it to disappear a lot faster than it would have normally taken. And inside the pouch there could only have been…. Itching powder!
Rainbow Dash groaned at not only the unpleasant itching that grew progressively worse, but also at the fact that she had just been pranked. Desperately she tried to scratch the itch only to find that the dress she was wearing made it impossible to reach that spot. Obviously Rarity had used her knowledge of pony anatomy to pick the least accessible spot and to further restrict her victim’s movements with the tight outfit.
With no other options Rainbow Dash began scratching her itch on any object solid enough. Rarity watched on with amusement as the Pegasus desperately rubbed against the nearby wardrobe, a few dress forms, a rack with rolls of fabric and finally squirming around on her back on the floor.
“Take it from me my Dear. That will not work and I do have some unwanted experience in that field.”
Rainbow Dash had to admit that the unicorn had a point. Rubbing and scratching would not help for long and the only way to get rid of the powder was water. She shot Rarity a half amused and half annoyed look. Rainbow Dash did not mind being pranked, far from it in fact. The price one would eventually pay for pranking others would always end in being pranked oneself. She however did not reckon with Rarity doing so and especially with itching powder.
The options she had now were to either use Rarity’s bathroom, find a raincloud or some other pool of water. The bathroom would take too long, a raincloud would not be in sight today and that left only the last option, a large pool of water. With a flap of her powerful wings she flew out of the boutique and took course to the nearby lake.
Rarity watched the tortured pegasus fly out of the door and took note of her course. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her making sure it was properly locked. Then the white unicorn casually trotted towards the lake.
_______________________________________________________________________
The lake was deserted, which was unfortunate because any potential onlookers would have seen a sight akin to a meteorite crashing down to earth. With a huge splash a vaguely ponyshaped object crashed into the water causing large waves to lap at the shore. A few moments passed before the water calmed down and a rainbow maned head popped to the surface with a relieved smile on its face.
Rainbow Dash just floated in the water for a few more minutes enjoying the glorious relief of no longer itching. She noticed the familiar shape of Rarity slowly trotting up to the water’s edge. The unicorn was still smiling her little smile and watched.
The pegasus used her wings to propel herself through the water. She was deliberately slow and carefully watched what Rarity might have in mind. That smile just seemed ominous to her. Yet the unicorn simply stood there watching as Rainbow Dash finally left the cool embrace of the lake.
Not taking her eyes off her friend Rainbow Dash pulled off the now soaking wet dress she had still been wearing. She carefully took it off and tried not to damage it in any way. After all it was still a dress meant for a Wonderbolt or so she thought. She stepped away from the pile of fabric in front of her and cautiously eyed Rarity all the time. In case the unicorn decided to prank her some more the only option she had was to either dive back into the lake or jump to safety. With her wings being soaked she would not be able to fly, but still could extend her height and length of a jump.
“Sorry about the dress.” Rainbow remarked and smiled at Rarity.
“Oh do not worry about that thing my Dear.” Rarity replied and lifted the wet fabric with her magic. She levitated it over to a nearby trashcan and unceremoniously dumped it inside without a second glance.
“Hey wait! I thought that was….for….a….” Rainbow Dash’s trail of thought vanished as she pointed towards the trashcan and saw her foreleg. Pink…..pink and green stripes….but…huh?
Startled she gave herself a quick look once over. Sure enough the pink and green stripes of the dress were still there. Her eye twitched as she realized what the unicorn had planned all along.
“Dye?!”
“Mmmh yes. I do say you look absolutely fabulous, Darling. It could not have worked any better.” Rarity laughed at the stunned pegasus.
“He he… this will wash out, right?” Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously.
“Oh yes. In one or two weeks you will not see any trace of it anymore.” Rarity grinned and stepped up to her friend.
“I do believe that we are now even, don’t you agree?”
“Uhm.. yeah..” Rainbow Dash was still trying to mentally digest that she would be an exotic zebra for about one or two weeks.
“Now if you will excuse me. I do have a few real orders to attend to, but I do say that I had fun. Hope to see you around soon. Oh what am I saying…with your new look you will be hard not to see.” Rarity giggled and waved a goodbye to her stripy friend before trotting back to her boutique.
Rainbow Dash watched her leave and made a mental note not to prank Rarity so soon anymore. Or at the very least leave it to Pinkie Pie.