Rainbow Dash Goes to a Dinner Party
Rainbow Dash was enjoying a few hours of down time as she reclined on a cloud over Sweet Apple Acres. A long morning of being just awesome was hard work and she thought that she deserved a break, not just for her sake either. It was also for anypony spectating who wasn't used to such high levels of pure awesome. Bad for the ol' ticker, ya know?
It was rounding up on noon when Rainbow finally decided it was safe to end her two hour “break” and head into Ponyville. A hard working mare had to eat too and Sugar Cube Corner sounded like just the ticket. I wonder if Pinkie has any plans later, she thinks as she appears to fall off her cloud before unfurling her wings to lazily wind her way into town. It's only a few minutes before the low-flying pegasus spots the rooftops over the trees and comes to a gliding halt before the bakery.
Almost as if on queue, Pinkie walks outside just as her hooves touch down. “Hiya Dashie! How's it going? You want a cupcake? Of course you want a cupcake, what am I thinking? Well just come on in and have a seat and I'll bring you one in half a jiffy. Actually, how long is a jiffy? I mean, when we say 'give me a sec', we actually mean eight to twelve seconds. But a jiffy is definitely sooner than a sec, but longer than right now, so I guess a jiffy is really close to if not exactly five point five seconds.” Pause for a long, wheezing indrawn breath. “But now I've held you up for almost three jiffies. Is that what their called? What exactly is a group of jiffies? I mean, do you call them a group of friends? Or maybe you treat them like they're identical brothers and call two a twin of jiffies, or maybe a triplet of jiffies?” She stops herself mid-rant as she spontaneously imagines what somepony would look like if he were called “jiffy” and begins to roll on the ground holding her sides as a uncontrollable fit of giggles overtakes her. Rainbow stands in the same place with a semi-blank face and wonders what exactly it would feel like if her mind were to be hit with a metaphorical wagon from nowhere. She thinks it would be something like this and cracks a smile and shakes her head at her friends antics with no attempt at comprehension. She'd leave that to the experts or the criminally insane, whichever the case may be.
Pinkie recovers with her usual alacrity and heads back inside with Dash right on her heels. She sits at one of the small tables and a trio of strawberry cupcakes on a plate are placed in front of her. Her stomach growls loudly enough to send slight tremors through her body. With a quick thanks to the bubbly pink pony behind the counter, she digs in and finishes the tasty treats in ten seconds flat. She sits there licking a little bit of pink frosting off of her hoof when Rarity walks in the front door and does a quick double take at spotting her.
“Rainbow Dash! Just the pony I was looking for.” She says in her prim businesslike voice. “The Wonderbolts are having a contest for their next uniform design next weekend in Canterlot and I could only think of one pony who would be the best model for my design. They're planning on the whole thing to be a bit of a competition along with the fashion show, there will be a race, an obstacle course and an endurance race over the course of the weekend starting Friday night. The model and designer get a five-star private dinner with the Wonderbolts at one of Canterlot's premiere restaurants and a modest award of five hundred bits for each pony.”
“Oh Dashie! That sounds like super-duper-double-ooper fun!” Pinkie replies with a big smile, a little bounce and a grandiose sweeping motion of her forelegs.
It takes the super-athlete a moment to register what her friend had said. “Wait a minute there, Rarity. You want me to be a model for the Wonderbolts next uniform AND take part in a three day contest with said Wonderbolts as the judges?!” Her voice reaches a scratchy crescendo as the sheer awesomeness of what her friend tells her sinks in.
“OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSSSSHHHHH!!!!!!” Rainbow says with barely restrained enthusiasm. She immediately flips the white unicorn around and begins to unceremoniously push her out the door by her flank, much to her shock and displeasure. “What are we waiting for Rarity? Let's get crackin!”
“Well, I'm waiting to get a bit of lunch.” She deadpans at the blunt pegasus after being pushed through the door she had just walked through.
Rainbow stops her zealous efforts to help Rarity back to her workshop and drops to a sitting position as her wings suddenly snap to her sides. “I guess that's as good a reason as any in my book.” She says with a chagrined expression and a hoof rubbing at the back of her head. Pinkie walks through the doorway and laughs at Rainbow's antics causing Rarity to do the same. Rainbow even manages to chuckle as she joins her friends in their humor at her expense.
This is so boooring, Rainbow thinks as she floats above Carousel Boutique on a cloud. After lunch, Rarity had taken Rainbows measurements for her test designs and got to work sketching, daydreaming and doing all her designer things. Rainbow had been through all this before, and she didn't want to go through it again so she left with an admonishment to stay nearby in case Rarity had to ask her questions about what was needed in a flight suit and her general input. It's not like she really knew what was needed anyways because she had never joined any of the other flight teams. It was the Wonderbolts or bust for this pegasus.
“Rainbow? Could you come here for a moment?” Rarity's voice carries clearly out of her work room and she rolls off of her cloud.
“Yeah? What d'ya need Rarity?” She says after landing in the chaotic room.
“Well I was wondering what you would recommend for the uniform to be the same and yet have a unique flare for each pony on the team?”
The uniform in front of her is cool. Really cool. It is a cowled one-piece jumper, but that's where the similarities between this one and their current uniform end. Beginning at the cowl, it is a deep sky blue and as you follow the uniform down the body, it seems as though windswept gray clouds are trying in vain to cover the rest of the uniform. And then there's a cloak. Cloaks kinda seem dorky and especially hard to pull off with a pegasus, but against Rainbows logic, Rarity managed to make a half-cloak that just stopped at the ponnequin's flanks and still keep that sleek feel. It managed to feel a part of the uniform all the same as it took the windswept clouds and advances them up the uniform to just behind where the wing joints would be. As Rainbow takes a closer look, Rarity had in fact come up with a new design just for performing pegasi. It has two tear drop shaped holes and had a four-part clasp that would let the cloak come off in a moments notice.
“Rarity...” Rainbow says as her friends fashion sense and skill completely blows her away. “This is so, totally, amazingly cool I don't know what else you could do to make it any better.”
“Oh, you're just saying that. It still needs a ton of work and I need to ask Fluttershy about a flexible stitch strong enough to hold without hampering movement.”
“No, Rarity, I'm not just saying that. I really like this design, not that anypony wouldn't not like it, but I'm honored you'd let me help you. Sure, I get to have fun too, but now I want to do better than I've ever done and win every contest just so your efforts aren't wasted.”
“Oh Rainbow, just do what you do best and let me worry about everything else.” Rarity says as she walks over to the fiery pegasus and promptly hugs her. They break apart a moment later with Rarities fore hooves resting on her shoulders. “My efforts are never wasted as long as my friends are happy, but it would be nice to be known as the pony who designed the Wonderbolts uniform.” She says with a wistful smile and a giggle.
“You won't regret it Rares, I promise. But maybe, now that I think about it, you could incorporate the Wonderbolts insignia somewhere and maybe add a little extra epic for Spitfires since she's the team captain.”
“Wonderful catch there darling. I thought something seemed a little off but I just couldn't place it. I'll add one to each corner of the cloak and keep the insignia in the same place as the original on their old uniforms, but maybe I can work in some thread-of-gold for a little extra flair.”
“Sounds like you know what you're doing, so I'll leave you to it. I'm gonna drop by Twilights to see what she's up to and maybe get some supper. You want me to bring something back for ya?”
“No, it's quite all right. I have something I can whip up in a jiffy when I get hungry.”
Rainbow laughs at her choice of words and makes a quick farewell as the fashionista wonders what it was she said that was so funny.