Rainbow Dash and a Dinner Party with the Wonderbolts

by divinearcadia

Different Battlefields, Same Goal

Different Battlefields, Same Goal

As Rainbow flies over to the library to see Twilight, she spots a certain blond haired cow-pony making a beeline towards the big tree as well so she alters her course and lands beside the pony.

“Why howdy there Rainbow, how's it goin'?” Applejack says with her usual country accent.

“It's going alright, I'm on my way over to Twilight's to see if she's interested in hanging out and possibly grabbing a bite to eat.”

“Ha! I was on my way over to pick up a book on pest prevention in orchards. I reckon that if I stop the little buggers before they do their damage, I won't be running around trying to stop'em in the first place.” She says with a wry smile. “But a bite to eat does sound mighty appealin' right about now.”

“Great! Lets get goin', maybe we can drop by Sugar Cube Corner since Pinkie's still there.”

“Sounds like a plan ta me.”

In a few moments, the two ponies walk through the front of the town library, a gentle chime announcing their presence. Looking around, everything seems to be in the usual order but Rainbows eyes stop for a moment over the Daring Do section to see if there are any new books to come in ahead of schedule. Looking up a bit, they see their lilac coated friend coming down the set of stairs that leads up to her loft.

“Hey Applejack, glad you could make it over. I have that book you asked about and I must say I'll be using some of those tricks myself. Wouldn't want my home to get sick now, would I?” She finishes with a wry chuckle.

“Thanks a bunch Twilight, and I reckon you wouldn't want that either.” She says laughing with her.

“So what brings you here Rainbow? You normally come over once a month when the new Daring Go book comes in, not that I don't see you around often enough, mind.”

“Well...” She beings as she tells the two about what Rarity and she are doing. “So, here I am wondering if you want to go to Sugar Cube Corner and hang out for a while.”

“It sounds like you two are going to be at your best. We should let Fluttershy know so we'll all be there to cheer the two of you on. And sure Rainbow, Sugar Cube Corner sounds great. Just let me go tell Spike to have him take my meal over to Rarities. It'll save her the time and trouble, plus the trip over will make it up to the little guy for his efforts.” She finishes with a smile as she walks off.

“So why are you so excited to go to a dinner party with the Wonderbolts in the first place Rainbow? Don't you see some of them every weekend when you go to that flight school of theirs?”

“Yeah... And that's the problem.” Applejack looks at her with the most bewildered expression on her face. “Think about it for a moment A.J. While I'm there I'm just a student and they're the teachers. They have duties and I have responsibilities. We don't mingle at all and small talk is about the only thing we have time for.”

“I've never thought about it that way Rainbow. This really would be a good chance for you to get to know them better. I'll tell you what though. You're gonna have a great cheering section this weekend. I'll bring my sister and her friends. It'll be a good experience for them to visit Canterlot. Maybe word will get out and some of the local ponies might show up too.” She finishes with a foreleg around Rainbows shoulders and a companionable chuckle that shows she'll be spreading the word around town.

“You girls ready to go?” Twilight says coming back from the kitchen and stops when she sees the chummy friends. “Anything I should know about?” She says with a bit of laughter in her voice.

“Just that I have the best friends in all of Equestria.” Rainbow says with a big smile that turns to a startled look when her stomach rumbles loudly enough for all three ponies to feel vibrations to one degree or another. “Lets get going before my stomach rebels.”

They all laugh and head out to eat while talking about what Rainbow has planned for the race. As they settle down at a table to wait for Pinkie to finish in the kitchen, they turn the direction of the questions to the fashion show portion of the event.

“Well I don't know many details about that. You're gonna have to get the details from Rarity. Speaking of which, the two of us are gonna have to work out what I'm supposed to do for that. I've only ever done the shows we did with Rarity and those were just small and informal.” She says with a bit of nervousness. At that point Pinkie comes out of the kitchen still stirring a bowl of batter.

“Hey girls, I'll be right with you. Sorry, I've been busy but the Cakes got an order earlier today for a catering job tomorrow.” She sets the bowl on the counter to grab a few plates and loads them up with all manner of treats. “I'm really sorry I can't hang around, but the Cakes are really counting on me to help them out. They're off getting more ingredients at the moment and Pumpkin and Pound are with them so I can get a good head start.”

“We understand Pinkie. You can't let the Cakes down after all.” Twilight says.

“Do ya think you'll be able to get the weekend off to come cheer for Rainbow?” Applejack asks.

“That shouldn't be a problem unless something suuuper important comes up. The Cakes try to make sure I have the weekend off since I've been helping them a lot more with the little ones. I wouldn't want to miss my friends big weekend even for all the cupcakes in the world.” She says smiling at Rainbow.

“Thanks, Pinkie. It really means a lot to know my friends will be there cheering me on.” Rainbow says smiling back. “Now don't worry about us and be sure to make the best deserts for your order. Don't feel like you're ignoring us because you're not.”

“Okie Dokie Dashie.” She says, a few energy levels below her usual bubbly self. She must really have a lot of baking to do if she's this serious. Rainbow thinks to herself as the pink mare takes her bowl of batter back to the kitchen.

“It's great to see how much the Cakes depend on her and how she returns that trust.” Twilight says. “It looks like she took a page out of your book Rainbow about not letting your friends down.”

“Ha ha, I guess you're right.” She says while hiding her nervousness. I just hope I don't let Rarity down.

It is Wednesday morning and Rainbow dash stood in Rarities dressing room. Fluttershy had been over all day yesterday helping Rarity with her unique sewing know how and the flight suit was finally ready. With some instructions from Rarity, Rainbow had gotten the suit on just fine. She had some trouble with the cloak, but once she walks out to ask Rarity for some help, she is shown how and instructed her how to put it on by herself. It felt weird to the pegasus because she had only ever worn the half-suits the trainees are given.

“Oh Rainbow...” Rarity says slightly breathless. “You look absolutely stunning in it. Here, take a look at yourself.” She grabs a standing mirror with her magic and brings it around to give her a full view of herself.

The pony in the mirror is totally, undeniably awesome. She turns to look at herself and she feels like she is the embodiment of a storm front, possessing the deceitful calm belying its intimidating nature. Lowering her flight goggles over her eyes and striking a take off posture, the image comes together that the storm is about to break. “Rarity,” Rainbow says as she stands back up. “You're a great designer, but this... This suit is a sheer stroke of genius! I mean, it encompasses what pagasi do and makes it clear what we're capable of. Deceptively calm but the promise of action in a moments notice.”

Rarity smiles, her eyes a little watery at her friends praise. “I do try my best Rainbow. After all a lady can't be seen to be lacking in passion where it counts.”

“You've got the skills to back it up, no denying that. Now...” Rainbow says with a bit of trepidation. “I was wondering if you could teach me what to do for the fashion show portion.” Her voice finishing low and embarrassed as she looks at her friend.

“Of course, my dear Rainbow Dash. It would be my honor. Your performance for Hoity Toity should give you all the confidence you'll ever need to run with the professionals, but I think I might have something in mind that's going to blow them all away.” A devious smile turning the corners of her mouth up. “Now, why don't you go out and give that suit a test flight? I'll get everything around in about a half hour, so no need to be in a hurry.”

“Sounds good to me Rares. I'll leave you to it and I'll let you know how everything is. I'll drop by after five minutes to leave it with ya.”

“Wonderful. See you soon.”

With that Rainbow walks outside to get the feel of the suit. It's not just a single layer, thanks to Fluttershy's advice, but two. The inner layer is linen while the outer one a thick cotton. The combination is very good for sports ponies since it'll absorb large amounts of sweat and allow it to evaporate without being seen through the breathable fabrics allowing the ponies to maintain the air of effortlessness. It takes a few moments for Rainbow to get used to the two layers as the feel of fabric rubbing on fabric is a new experience to her. Feeling confident, she takes off less than a minute later. This is so weird, she thinks after takeoff. It's almost like the suit isn't there. Maybe it's just me, but I'll have to ask Rarity about it after I finish testing it out.

Pushing the thought out of her mind, she puts her full attention into flying. After returning the cloak to Rarity she performs her entire repertoire of tricks from barrel rolls to steep dives and all manner of sharp moves that require her to contort her body quickly and sometimes awkwardly. During one particularly tricky one, she almost looses control over the Ponyville reservoir but the thought of getting Rarities suit wet and dirty gives her the ability to recover. She decides to walk back to Rarities place when she decides that it's getting close to the time they agreed upon for her to return.

As she makes her way through the streets, she draws a lot of attention. Since the general population knows Rainbow by sight, the sight of her in a flight suit is definitely out of the norm. The fact that it makes such a statement even more so. She thanks each pony for their complements and tells them a little about the contest and that if they want the full details to ask Rarity. Who knows? She thinks to herself as she makes her way through town. Maybe Rarity can drum up a little extra business if I send some ponies her way?

Soon she's back in Carousel Boutique and looking for Rarity. “Rarity?” She calls out from the foyer. Almost as if response, she hears a short and shrill shriek followed by a loud thump from behind the curtains of the small modeling runway. Being a mare of action, she jumps up on the stage to see if she's alright. She sees Rarity sitting on her haunches next to a fallen ladder and rubbing herself in a very unlady-like manner. Seeing her friend is relatively unhurt, she sits down with a small chuckle. “Having some technical difficulties Rarity?”

Rarity shoots her a look laden with ten kinds of promised reparations in her future but sighs instead and smiles wryly. “Ha ha, Rainbow Dash. If you must know, I was setting up a mist-maker from that rafter. If my plan works, we'll be the talk of Canterlot's designer circuit for years.”

“Really?” Rainbow responds. “I'm more interested in what's going on with this suit and that mist-maker. First of all, what kind of crazy magic is in this thing? When I was flying, it could feel the air current like I wasn't wearing anything at all.”

“I'm so glad it worked!” Rarity exclaims and gets up promptly to go about her final preparations. “You see, yesterday evening Twilight came over and told us, Fluttershy and I, about a very old spell she came across. She told us that it was one of the many peace gifts exchanged between the three pony civilizations that founded Equestria. This was one that worked in harmony with the innate pegasus magic to allow pegasi warriors to feel the air currents through their armor. You could imagine their joy at the ability to feel the air through their stuffy armor and uniforms. So Twilight graciously offered to teach me the spell and she performed the enchantment herself on the suit you're wearing.” With that, Rarity finished both her explanation and her preparations.

“Now, about the mist-maker. I was thinking we could use it to make a truly dynamic entrance. I've seen how some pegasi can trail clouds behind themselves simply through contact and I thought that would make a real impression. I'm going to fire up the mist-makers and let them build up a thick fog and keep it from thinning with my magic. What I want you to do is walk through it slowly through it when I let it quickly roll out onto the runway and emerge halfway out of it and pick up your pace halfway down the runway. See if you can use your pegasus magic to have it cling to your waist and trail it behind you until you get to the very end. Once you get there, use a quick but powerful wing beat to blow a quick gust of air at the ground, breaking its contact with you and causing the low lying mist to open up and form a sort of cave around you. If you do it properly, it'll look absolutely phenomenal.

“I don't expect it to be just right the first time, but that's why we have all day today and tomorrow to practice. Now, how about we get started?” She finally finishes. Rarity has a look resembling a pony who not only has a vision, but a pony who knows that her vision will be a reality.

I'm so pumped about this that even I can see it. She thinks to herself. With that, they get everything set up, the longest part involving the mist-makers which takes quite a while to produce enough vapor for Rainbow Dash to be confident her magic can affect it and to produce enough to work with. Almost ten minutes later Rarity is standing at the end of her runway, horn still glowing to hold back the silvery mist. She drops the containment and the mist boils on stage, looking like something alive. The light creates silvery highlights and swirling shadows and a dark, indistinct shadow begins to emerge from the mists. Halfway down, Rainbows nose pokes out which is quickly followed by her head and upper body, the mist looks as though it's trying to cling to her waist. Just like I hoped and imagined. Rarity thinks slightly lightheaded and giddy that everything is going exactly how she had planned.

Rainbow stops at the end, looking back slightly scornfully at the clinging mist and with a deceptively nonchalant flutter of her wings, a moderately powerful gust of wind breaks the mist from her body and sends it roiling up. It stops after a short distance to form a silvery arch suspended above the runway. It lasts for only a moment and then dissipates. Rainbow looks to Rarity a few moments later who hasn't said a single thing since she had finished the routine. “So... How was I?” She asks suddenly nervous about how she did.

“How did you do?” Rarity says slightly higher pitched than normal. “How did you do?! You were simply MAGNIFICENT! I've never seen anypony make such a powerful impact from such a simple display. This is it Rainbow Dash. We're going to blast those other ponies out of the water with this.” She says surprisingly aggressive and suddenly begins moving with purpose, motioning Rainbow to follow her. “We have the rest of today and tomorrow to get everything down pat, but we should get you out of the suit. I want to make another as a backup later tonight, just in case, and we can practice without it.”

The rest of the day passes like this for Rainbow and Rarity. Aside from moving the mist-makers closer together at Rainbows insistence to let her pegasus magic seep into the gathering vapor while she stands inside of Rarities containment magic letting her have better control over it even after she breaks physical contact with it. By the end of the day, Rainbow is exhausted while Rarity is practically shimmering from pent up excitement. They part ways Wednesday night, planning to meet up tomorrow morning for another day of the same.

Thursday goes by incredibly fast for the driven and passionate pair with occasional visits from their friends. Rarity makes sure none of them have any idea what their routine is going to look like to make sure they're as enraptured at the rest of the audience Friday evening. As the entire group of friends are eating a boisterous supper in Rarities kitchen, there comes a knock on her front door. Rarity comes back with a sealed scroll held in her magical grasp.

“What's that Rarity?” Pinkie asks with her usual energy. From what she had said, the Cakes had given her a bit of a bonus and the weekend off for her since she had done such a great job of completing almost half the catering order on her own.

“It's the roster of competitors, both the designers and the athletes for this weekend. Lets take a look at the competition, shall we?” With a sharp crack, she breaks the seal and unrolls it as the group of friends gather around to look on. Rainbow, unsurprisingly, ignores the designer roster on the left to go down the athlete roster. As her eyes goes lower and lower, her eyebrows rise higher and higher until she and Rarity let out a startled 'WHAT?!' simultaneously.

The other ponies back off a little bit, startled by their outburst. Rainbow and Rarity look to each other with a bit of anxiety. “What's the matter with you two? It sounds like you two sat on a tack.” Applejack asks.

“Well, there's a lot of stiff competition, nothing to be surprised about there. But I was never expecting Hoity Toity to register! I mean, he caters to the nobility of Equestria and rarely does anything like this...” She says with a bit of embarrassment over her outburst.

“Yeah, you may have some stiff competition Rarity, but I'm really going against the cream of the crop here." Rainbow interjects. "Almost everypony on that roster is either a current international athlete or somepony who's almost as good of a flier as I am. I mean, not that I'm worried or anything, but what really surprised me was the name at the bottom.”

“The bottom you say?” Rarity responds.

“Yeah, why?”

With twin looks of horror, they look at the bottom of the scroll. There, in elegant calligraphy and separated by an elegant slash, are the names Hoity Toity and Lightning Dust.

Author's Note:

Well ponyfeathers. Looks like the competition's going to be fierce for the unlikely pair.

Comments

[divinearcadia]

3080360 Why thank you verily :3

[lulamoo_alpaca]

Uh oh, this won't be good! Rivals against rivals! Rainbow Dash vs Lightning Dust, who will win? Well we shall find out later in this story!

[white rainbow pony]

When is the next one coming out? These are really good.

[white rainbow pony]

I. NEED. MORE!!!!!!! I'm distressed from lack of this awesome story. MORE.

[divinearcadia]

3096161 I will try my best to update this particular story every four days or so. My other story requires a lot of pensive contemplation as I write it, so it takes up a bit more of my time. I hope you can stand the wait