Rarity cracked one eye open when her alarm clock rang. She stretched her sleepy body beneath her silk sheet, let out the most ladylike yawn she could muster and slowly sat up. She stretched further and arched her back, making several of her joints pop. She suppressed another, much louder yawn, switched her alarm off and finally got out of her bed.

She walked drowsily to her personal bathroom and once she reached the sink, opened her mouth and removed the mouthguard protecting her upper teeth from sleep bruxism. She eyed the plastic piece covered with dried saliva with a slight scowl of disgust as she always did each other morning, and then picked up her toothbrush, poured some paste on the bristles and started cleaning both her teeth and her mouthguard.

As she did so, she looked at herself in the mirror and scowled again as she spotted the thick, dark rings under her eyes. This would need much makeup to fix, but exceptionally, she wasn't going to put any on as soon as she was done cleaning her teeth.

For she had felt the unmistakable pull of inspiration ever since she woke up, and she knew from personal experience that her muse was a fickle mistress who wouldn't hesitate to leave her hanging if she didn't give in to her advances.

She rinsed her mouth along with her mouthguard and walked back to her bed with a spring in her step, then laid her mouthguard in its small box on her nightstand. Not even bothering to change out of her pajamas, she almost danced through the organized chaos littered across her bedroom to her work station and plopped herself on her chair.

Her favorite painting hung above the station at head level, roughly the same width as her vanity table's mirror but slightly shorter. It depicted Freyja and a few of her shieldmaiden, all of them clothed chastely yet sensual. They basked in the sun in a conifer forest's clearing gifted with a spring of which water was crystal clear.

Rarity smiled widely, the scene across from her spurring her inspiration to new heights. Her mind boiled with ideas roused from last night's research with Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash rarely slept in her home on her own; there usually were more of her friends when they had sleepovers, but she hadn't come to her house for one of those yesterday. Indeed, they had been charged with making a presentation on the history of the Eastern Romane Empire, from its birth through the Emperor Diocletian's decree to its death with the fall of Constantinople, so they'd decided to work together after school.

They'd chosen Rarity's home because, honestly, she didn't trust her friend's bedroom to be remotely clean. Rainbow Dash had spent the night in her parents' guest room instead.

They'd raided Canterlot High School's well-stocked library before going to her house, dividing up the tasks; she chose the books and Rainbow Dash carried them. She had taken particular care to select only books with several pictures, because she knew Rainbow Dash would never be able to get into them if they were nothing but walls of text. This kind act to her friend brought her an unexpected boon in the form of the inspiration pouring into her brain with reckless abandon.

Those Eastern Romane armors and attires were simply fabulous!

Of course, Rainbow Dash didn't pay attention to much of the information they gathered, except for the battles about which she was particularly enthusiastic, and that interest increased dramatically once they reached the introduction of gunpowder upon the battlefield.

Rarity stopped drawing and laid her pencil to the side of her paper sheet. She then delicately took the sheet and raised it at eye level to admire the design she'd drawn while reminiscing the previous night.

She was particularly proud of how she'd merged the lamellar structure of some of their armor with a long dress and she smiled to herself as more inspiration washed over her.

The doorknob clicked and turned all of sudden and the door opened, revealing Rainbow Dash. "Rarity, can I use your shampoo? Your parents' cheap stuff is going to destroy my hair."

Rarity shrieked and covered her face with both hands, making Rainbow Dash start and step clumsily backwards.

Rainbow Dash raised her hands in front of her defensively. "Sorry Rarity, I didn't mean to startle yo-"

"Don't look at me!"

Brows furrowing, Rainbow Dash lowered her hands. "Uh?"

Rarity's voice broke. "I look horrible without makeup!"

Rainbow Dash blinked and gaped at her for a few seconds. "That's it?" she then asked incredulously.

Her friend nodded with a slight sob, her face still hidden.

"Oh for crying out loud," muttered Rainbow Dash as she dragged one hand down from her forehead to her chin. "Come on, Rarity." She threw a hand towards her work station. "Does the goddess you love so much use makeup?"

Rarity finally uncovered her face and closed the distance to get in her face. "She's the ásynja of beauty, Rainbow Dash!" she retorted, her voice torn between hissing and screeching. "She doesn't need makeup!"

She started hugging herself, facing away from her friend.

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms. "Neither do you."

"I-" Rarity closed her mouth. "What?"

A surprisingly soft smile curled Rainbow Dash's lips up and she pulled Rarity's hands away from her shoulders before holding them in her own. Rarity blinked in confusion, but then her eyes widened drastically when Rainbow Dash closed the distance between them with a gentle peck on her lips.

Rarity could hear her blood pound in her head as distinctly as her heart in her chest, and warmth filled that same chest along with her cheeks. "Rainbow...?"

"You're beautiful without makeup," she replied simply after pulling away.

Rarity could only stare at her in stunned silence.

Rainbow Dash's cheeks then flushed ever so slightly as she gave a quiet, nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. "So..." she eventually murmured, "can I use your shampoo?"

She could only nod dumbly.

"Thank you, Rarity," said Rainbow Dash in response before leaving the room and closing the door much less loudly as she usually did.

Standing still for several minutes, Rarity eventually raised a hand and softly brushed her lips with her fingers as her heartbeat slowly decreased back to normal, though the warmth never left.

Maybe she could go to school without makeup today.