135. Old Habits
Rarity leaned against a wall and watched as Rainbow Dash looked through the slapdash corkboard full of potential missions for local Slayers posted on the wall of the Neighagra Falls Inn lobby.
The board was an absolute mess of papers that looked like it hadn’t been touched in eons, but Rarity supposed that was inevitable considering Neighagra was a rather obscure location near the middle of nowhere. Just off to the sides of nowhere, not quite in the middle.
It was certainly a useful and even popular rest stop for weary travelers wandering the roads of Equestria by hoof, and was well-known for its quality service and immaculate conditions— which Rarity could now happily vouch for— but it was just too far out of the way for most Slayers to make it a priority.
And while the sorry state of the corkboard was a definite distraction to Rarity— because honestly, they could have at least straightened it up a tad and made it easier to navigate; perhaps have it organized by mission difficulty or proximity or— well she was getting off track.
The point was, Rarity’s focus was primarily on Rainbow Dash herself; something about the way Rainbow was poking at the scattered papers on the board, standing up on the tippy-edges of her hooves to look at some of the higher posts, and even just the way she huffed in frustration for the third or fourth time since she’d been standing there… it was all very cute.
Rainbow Dash had lightened up considerably since the Baltimare mission, or even since they spoke at the ruins of the library. She had already seemingly gotten used to travelling with dragons— something that Rarity was worried she would never get used to— and Rarity couldn’t help but be endeared by this aura of confidence and relaxation.
Though, if Rarity were being completely honest, this newer, more relaxed and confident Rainbow Dash definitely made her first appearance very soon after she started dating Applejack, a fact that Rainbow herself was quick to get flustered by when it was pointed out, but not one she was willing or able to argue with.
Either way, watching Rainbow was a breath of fresh air for Rarity, who felt like she could barely breathe at all under the mountain of stress crushing down on her chest.
“Bleugh,” Rainbow groaned, turning away from the board and tossing herself into a nearby plush chair.
“No luck, darling?” Rarity hummed, sitting down on the arm of Rainbow’s chair. “What seems to be the problem? It’s not as though we’re hurting for options.”
“It’s mostly rumors and hearsay,” Rainbow grumbled. “When you’re this far out from any villages or cities, a lot of times you get a ton of reports of people seeing weird stuff, but there’s no credibility. So no one checks on anything and the reports keep piling up—heck, a bunch of those papers are for the same monster. I just don’t wanna waste our time, y’know?”
“I do,” Rarity nodded.
“And I feel like I already am,” Rainbow said, her cheeks flaring up and scratching the back of her neck. “It was my idea to take on some missions while we were here.”
“Yes, well,” Rarity put her hands gently on Rainbow’s shoulders and tried to help her relax a tad, “it wasn’t your idea to stick around in Neighagra Falls for a few more days. And if you hadn’t suggested looking for a mission, I would have. I’d go stir crazy just sitting around here all day. I’d just be thinking of—”
Rarity paused.
“Ahem,” she said curtly. “Well, it doesn’t matter what I’d be thinking of, it’d just be—”
“You can just say ‘Twilight’, Rarity,” Rainbow chuckled, putting her hand over Rarity’s hand. “Like, I get it. You’re still grappling with everything.”
“I am,” Rarity sighed. She wanted to huff at Rainbow Dash for reading her so easily, but Rarity supposed it was simply her own fault. “Frankly, I’m quite impressed that you have managed to come to terms with this ridiculous situation so quickly. It’s inspiring, to be quite honest.”
“Thanks,” Rainbow laughed awkwardly, “but I really don’t deserve that kinda praise. I’m just stupid. I want to trust Twilight and Fluttershy, so I’m just… gonna. And if that bites me in the ass later, well-” Rainbow shrugged “-then I guess that’s whatever.
At least, I’m gonna try. I can make all the bold statements and declarations I want, but at the end of the day you know what they say about old habits.”
“Be that as it may,” Rarity hummed, her fingers gently tracing Rainbow’s shoulder, “you at least made a decision, and you’re sticking with it. That’s admirable. I admire it, at least.”
“You’ll come around, Rarity,” Rainbow smiled at Rarity, and Rarity felt her cheeks heating up; Rainbow’s confidence in her warmed her heart, and it made her feel better than she had since this whole nightmare began. “And whatever you choose, I trust your judgment. Not a doubt in my mind that you’ll do the right thing.”
“Well,” now it was Rarity’s turn to laugh awkwardly, “if you have such faith in me, it wouldn’t do to not have faith in myself. I wouldn’t want to turn you into a liar.”
“You’re so weird, Rarity,” Rainbow cackled and stood to her hooves, and as Rarity slid onto her back in the seat of the chair, she looked up at Rainbow and was awash in how beautiful Rainbow’s confidence was. “You think way too much.”
“You’re almost certainly right,” Rarity sighed dramatically, resting her cheek on her fist. “So how about we just think about our next mission, hm? Why don’t you pick one already?”
“Will do!” Rainbow said, pumping her fists before tearing a random sheet off the corkboard and shoving it right into Rarity’s face.
“A sea serpent?” Rarity said, reading the page.
“Good enough for me!” Rainbow cheered, and Rarity laughed. No matter what happened on this fool’s errand, Rarity was already certain that it wouldn’t be a waste of time.
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10095537
The moral of the story is: always trust the government, they know what's best
Damn, was hoping we'd finally be getting this show on the road to the Crystal Empire. Looking forward to how you wrote Shiny.
What's that?! I can't hear what you're saying over the pots and pans!
And his name is STEVEN MAGNET!
Please be Adagio, please be Adagio...
Jk whoever it is they'll be gay so it's all good