The dress was not perfect. Then again, it was also unfinished, but there was still a small detail tugging at Rarity’s thoughts as she stepped back. A sensation that this dress wasn’t quite up to her usual standards, even though her friends had all said it looked wonderful. Well, all of her friends minus Rainbow, of course. This dress was supposed to be a surprise for her.
“Perhaps,” muttered Rarity, “it will look better in the morning.” It was already well into the night, but Rarity wanted to get the dress perfect. With a sigh, Rarity extinguished the candle in her workroom, and trotted up to bed.
******
Things didn’t look much better in the morning. In fact, the moment that Rarity had entered the room, she immediately decided that she hated the dress. With a sigh, she pulled it off the dressmaker’s stand, and tossed it to the side. As she sat, idly sketching out a few other ideas for the dress, she watched as Rainbow worked the weather, kicking clouds into place with a brutish elegance. There was no real way that Rarity could describe how much effort Rainbow put in to put in the least effort at her job. But such was the occasional dichotomy of Rainbow Dash.
Rarity’s eyes snapped open. Yes, she could see it now. The perfect dress for Rainbow. It would have to try and capture everything that Rarity loved about Rainbow, everything that was unique about her. Any other fashionista would have crumbled at the task, but Rarity was no ordinary fashionista. She had done harder things, such as make Applejack actually look presentable to the Canterlot nobility. Rarity mentally offered an apology to Applejack.
Fabric flew around Rarity. She was a whirlwind of colour and magic and song. Her needle and thread flowed through cloth, stitching everything together in a pattern that only existed in her mind. This was why she loved dressmaking-Rarity loved seeing a thing in her mind, and then making it into something that actually existed so that other people could share in her ideas. Rarity liked making the world beautiful.
******
The dress was, quite possibly, the ugliest thing that she had ever created. Such were Rarity’s thoughts the next morning as she levitated the dress from the mannequin. Why had she thought that this was a good idea? Such a monstrosity deserved to be relegated to her fireplace, because she wouldn’t even want Rainbow to wear that.
Rarity frowned. She had so wanted Rainbow to look wonderful for their wedding, and she wanted to be the one who let the world know that yes, Rainbow Dash was, when she wanted to be, an absolutely stunning mare.
She sighed. Rarity knew that the wedding was quite likely, one of the only times when she would actually be able to convince Rainbow to wear a dress, or even submit herself to a spa treatment at all. But unless she could create the dress that would bring out the beauty in Rainbow, the dress that would let the rest of the world see what Rarity saw every time she saw Rainbow Dash, she was stumped.
It didn’t help that Rainbow Dash was, well, Rainbow Dash.
****Time****
An idea formed in Rarity’s mind. She found it appropriate. Bolts of coth started to fly around the workroom. Needle and thread flew into action in the surety of Rarity’s magical grip. And this time, Rarity knew exactly what she was doing.
******
“I now pronounce you mare and wife,” said Princess Cadance, “you may kiss the bride.”
Rainbow Dash grinned as she turned to face Rarity, who was dressed in a beautiful dress of her own design. The only thing that Rainbow had done was to have a spa session, and she didn’t even complain that much, really. But Rainbow had expected Rarity to use their wedding as an excuse to get Rainbow in a dress for once, and Rainbow would have agreed. Without complaining, even. But she had been surprised when Rarity had said that she’d be wearing the dress, and Rainbow could turn up au natural.
As the two walked out of the hall where they’d held the wedding, Rainbow leant over to Rarity.
“So, why’d you not make a dress for me?” she asked, “I would have thought you would’ve jumped at the chance.”
Rarity just smiled.
“I was going to, but then I realised something. You are beautiful, Rainbow, but because you are always, unabashedly, you. Putting you in a dress would only spoil that.”
“So what you’re saying is that I’m too awesome for dresses?” asked Rainbow.
“Maybe, maybe not,” smirked Rarity, “but right now, all I want you to do is tear this one off me, Miss Best-Flyer-In-Equestria.”
“Now that is an idea I can get behind,” said Rainbow, sweeping Rarity off her hooves and dashing for the Boutique.