Flash Colored

by MythrilMoth

Alabaster

Rarity's long, luscious curls of purple perfection were tied back with lengths of black silk ribbon into a frame of short, shoulder-length corkscrew curls that bounced and bobbed to either side of her face. A black headband graced her forehead, soaking up sweat. In contrast to her usual elegant daywear, today she wore a black silk karate gi with gold trim and a crimson belt. She bowed formally to her opponent, Octavia Melody, who was dressed in a simple white gi and red belt. The referee signaled the start of the match, and the girls sized each other up, looking for an opening.

Flash sat with Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, watching the match. "I still can't believe Rarity does karate," Flash commented.

"Even a prissy diva like Rarity needs to be able to take care of herself," Rainbow said. "Of course, I'm kinda surprised she does competitions."

"I'm just surprised she's in a different dojo than Octavia," Sunset said. "I mean, you'd think both of them being Wondercolts, they'd be in the same dojo."

Flash watched two of the daintiest, most proper girls he knew at school lay into each other with swift exchanges of fists and feet, letting out sharp battle cries as they danced back and forth, striking and blocking, seeking contact. A smooth grey palm blocked a dainty alabaster foot, turning the kick aside before replying with a sweep that forced Rarity to hop back, nearly losing her balance. Rarity answered with an attempted throw, but misread Octavia's recovery and took a rising punch to the breadbasket. The horn sounded. "Point, Melody!"

The match continued along the same vein, each girl scoring points in turn, until it came time for the deciding, tiebreaking point. Flash and the girls watched with breathless anticipation as Octavia and Rarity sized each other up, looking for an opening.

"Crane kick! Drum technique! Get her a bodybag!" Pinkie Pie yelled. Sunset whacked her upside the head with a rolled-up program.

Rarity drew Octavia in with a feint, then twisted around to the side and delivered two quick snap kicks Octavia had no chance of blocking. The horn sounded, and Rarity's section erupted in cheers. The two girls stepped back, bowed to the referee, then bowed to each other.

"The winner of the Canterlot City Red Belt Invitational, Teen Division," the emcee announced as he rushed onto the floor with a shiny gold trophy, "Miss Rarity of the Takeshita-dou Karate Club!"

Rarity tossed her hair primly as she accepted her trophy and hoisted it above her head for all to see, then made her way back to the locker rooms. The other girls ran off to join her, leaving Flash loitering around at the venue's entrance, waiting, as he'd driven the girls to the match and would be needed to secure their return to Rarity's place, where the four of them were planning a victory slumber party.

When they emerged, Rarity was fashionably dressed in the blouse, skirt, and purple boots combo that she had favored for most of junior year, her hair restored to its usual style, her huge handbag slung over one shoulder, her trophy held firmly in the other, while Sunset Shimmer carried her gym bag. "So sorry to keep you waiting, darling," Rarity said to Flash as they approached.

"It's cool," Flash said. "I'll get you girls over to Rarity's so you can get your little party started. Oh, congrats on the win, by the way."

"Thank you," Rarity said. "To be honest, I was a bit worried there at the end."

As soon as all the cargo was stowed in the trunk and the girls had crammed themselves into the car, Flash got into the driver's seat and started the ignition. Rarity had earned the coveted shotgun position; he glanced over at her as she engrossed herself in her phone, no doubt posting news of her victory all over social media. He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, navigating the dark streets of the city.

A few minutes later, Rarity looked up from her phone. "There, the celebratory pizzas are ordered," she said. "With luck, we should arrive at my house just in time to meet the driver."

"I'll make sure you get there in time," Flash said confidently.

"Hey, what's this rollin' around on the floor back here?" Rainbow wondered. Flash glanced into the rear view mirror, but couldn't really see what was going on in the back seat. "Is this makeup?"

"Huh? Hey! That's my foundation!" Sunset exclaimed. "So that's what happened to it! Oh, it must've fallen out of my purse when I was getting my wallet out the other day and I just didn't notice!" She thumped herself on the forehead. "I swear I turned my bag inside out looking for that!"

Flash felt guilt squirm around in his gut. He should've just returned it the day after...

"Ah well, I haven't had any blemishes or anything lately, so it's not like going without it hurt or anything." Sunset's shoulders shrugged in the rear view. "I'm just glad I found it, foundation shopping is a real pain in the butt."

"Boy, I'll say," Pinkie agreed.

"Oh good heavens yes," Rarity said. "Chromatic matching alone takes ever so long, let alone the blending time! Why, my last trip to the makeup salon took most of an afternoon!"

The guilty knots in Flash's stomach squirmed and wriggled and threatened to burst forth from his body like some sort of alien monster.

"Yeah, that's why I don't bother," Rainbow Dash said. "A little mascara and some eyeshadow every now and then is as much makeup as I need. I don't have time to stand around all day getting my pigment matched. If I ever really need that crap, I can just swipe some from Trixie, she's got like ten jars of it."

"Goodness no, darling!" Rarity gasped. "It would never blend prop—" She paused, frowning. "Well...hmm. I suppose in a pinch, perhaps...still..."

Flash swallowed. "S-so...getting the right color makeup is a super big deal, huh?"

"Oh, I should say so," Rarity said, examining her fingernails. "Pigment matching is equal parts chemistry and art, and it isn't something just anybody can do. Proper foundation requires a long trip to a makeup salon."

Flash frowned. "I thought they sold makeup at like, the drug store and stuff."

Rarity laughed. "Yes, but darling, that's just lipstick and nail polish and eyeliner and mascara and, well...it's the makeup you see," she explained. "Foundation and blush and concealer and the like are a trickier beast, given everyone's unique and distinctive skin coloration."

"Yeah, you have to get color matched, and sometimes it can take hours," Sunset said.

"Oh," Flash said. "Well, I'm glad you found it then."

A few minutes later, he pulled smoothly up to Rarity's house. As the girls disembarked, he opened the trunk and started hauling out bags to schlep up to the house. "Well, congrats again, Rarity," he said as Rarity dug out her keys to open the door. "I, uhh...hope you girls have a good time tonight." Even as he said this, the headlights and glowing sign of the pizza delivery car flooded the lawn with light.

Rarity shot him a curious glance. "You're staying for pizza, surely?" she asked.

"Huh? But I—"

"I won't hear a no!" Rarity insisted. "You were there to help cheer me on tonight, so you should rightly be here for the celebration! Well, the part that involves pizza and good friends, at least," she said.

"Yeah, Flash, stick around for a bit," Sunset said with a smile. "You don't have to be in such a hurry to go."

"Parties are more fun when there's more people!" Pinkie said.

"Well...sure," Flash said hesitantly, even as the driver walked up with a delivery bag and a confused expression. Sunset took over opening the door and helped Flash hustle everything in while Rarity and Rainbow Dash attended to the pizzas and sides.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Yeah, some makeup in this world seems like it'd be akin to house paint, at least in terms of needing to mix the colors when someone orders it. One can only imagine what they had to do in earlier eras. Probably still involved unhealthy amounts of lead.

[B_Munro]

I'd imagine this is useful to fashion designers like Rarity, which specialize in the individual touch rather than mass-produced outfits. (And come to think of it, to the Equestrian Rarity as well: as popular as that Princess Dress might have been, surely it didn't go well with quite a few Ponies' colors?)

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

Flash sat with Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, watching the match. "I still can't believe Rarity does karate," Flash commented.

Same 😲

Rarity tossed her hair primly as she accepted her trophy and hoisted it above her head for all to see, then made her way back to the locker rooms. The other girls ran off to join her, leaving Flash loitering around at the venue's entrance, waiting, as he'd driven the girls to the match and would be needed to secure their return to Rarity's place, where the four of them were planning a victory slumber party.

Congrats rarity.

Flash felt guilt squirm around in his gut. He should've just returned it the day after...

Yep, you really should have.

"Parties are more fun when there's more people!" Pinkie said.

Same