//------------------------------//
// The Cutie Mark Crusaders 
// Story: Playing in the Mud 
// by The Dark Wolf 
//------------------------------//

A few years had passed, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were now 19, each as tall as her sister/sister figure.

They were camping at a campsite they liked to go to. Apple Bloom was wearing a green T-shirt and jeans, bigger than the ones she had worn when she was younger. Sweetie Belle was wearing a light blue tank top and a pink skirt halfway to her knees. Scootaloo was dressed more athletically, wearing a dark purple midriff T-shirt and matching short, skintight shorts. She used to prefer her hair being shorter, but a few years ago she had let it grow longer so she could have the same hairstyle as Rainbow Dash. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle kept their hairstyles, though Sweetie Belle's looked a little fancier.

They were walking down a path after a big rainstorm. There were mud puddles everywhere.

"It sure rained hard this mornin', didn't it?" said Apple Bloom.

"Good thing there was no thunder, or I couldn't have had any fun with it," said Sweetie Belle, who had run around in the rain after changing into a purple midriff tank top and short, black, skintight shorts she had brought specifically for playing in the rain, which she had always found extremely fun.

"Race you to that tree!" said Scootaloo, and she ran.

Apple Bloom started to run after her, but tripped over a rock and fell face first in a big mud puddle. Scootaloo stopped and turned around as Apple Bloom got into a sitting position, spitting out mud.

"Why not have fun with it?" said Sweetie Belle, and she jumped face first into the mud, splashing Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle's dress was now covered with mud, but she didn't mind, even though she'd have preferred wearing her rain shorts for this.

"Hey, you splashed me!" said Apple Bloom, though not sounding truly annoyed, and she splashed Sweetie Belle back.

Scootaloo watched the two girls splashing each other, getting dirtier by the second.

"Come in and join us!" said Apple Bloom.

"No thanks," said Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle splashed her, splattering mud all across her front. Scootaloo grinned mischievously and jumped into the mud, splashing both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. They splashed her back, which eventually got to throwing balls of mud at each other as if it were a snowball fight.

Then Apple Bloom forced Sweetie Belle facedown in the mud and sat on her back, until Scootaloo tackled her off. Sweetie Belle spun her leg and tripped Scootaloo, knocking her on her rear.

Eventually, the three girls got tired of playing in the mud and walked for a while, not caring that they were all completely covered in mud, until they walked over to the lake and went for a swim. By the time they emerged from the water, sparkly clean and soaking wet, the sun came out, so they lay on the beach and let the sun dry them, relaxing after playing around so hard.